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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS STUDIES 

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-Ol 'V. NO. I MARCH. tOtft 

The Illinois Whigs Before 1 846 



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Associate in Economics, University of Illinois 



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The Illinois Whigs Before 1 846 



BY 



CHARLES MANFRED THOMPSON, Ph.D. 

Associate in Economics, University of Illinois 



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PREFACE. 



This study is intended to be but preliminary to a history of 
the Illinois Whigs, which will consider not only the origin and 
development, but also the decline and decay of that party. It 

seemed advisable, therefore, to defer the slavery agitations 
of the thirties and early forties to the more complete discussion. 

Occasionally the history of the Whig party, and even the 
political narrative itself, gives way to discussions of a purely 
social or economic nature. Such a procedure is the result of a 
conscious attempt to examine the social and economic environ- 
ment of a minority party within a limited geographical area, to 
make accessible hitherto unpublished information on the political 
affiliations of hundreds of Illinois office holders, and to show 
some of the relations between the politics of the state and the 
politics of the nation. 

To the comity and state officers who have opened their 
respective archives and rendered whatever aid they could to 
facilitate research, I wish at this point to express my thanks; 
likewise to the officials and attendants of the Chicago Historical 
Library, of the Indiana State Library, of the Illinois State His- 
torical Library, of the Mercantile Library, St. Louis, and of the 
Library of the University of Illinois. I am particularly indebted 
to Professor Solon J. Buck of the Universiy of Minnesota, for 
advice during the early stages of investigation ; to Professor 
Evarts B. Greene for kind and helpful criticisms, and above all 
to Professor Clarence W. Alvord whose advice and oversight 
have made the study possible. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

CHAPTER I. 

PACT 

Genesis of the Illinois Whigs, [8og [934 

Territorial politics ... 9 

Distribution of offices, [818.... 11 

Edwards and anti-Edwards factions 13 

Cook vs. McLean, 1S19 13 

The Missouri question [3 

!. Kane 15 

Cook vs. McLean. [822 15 

Gubernatorial campaign and election, iSjj 16 

Question of constitutional convention before the General Assembly.. 23 

Convention campaign and election, 1823-1824 25 

Cook vs. Bond. 1824 27 

Presidential election, 1824 27 

Cook casts vote of Illinois for Adams, 1825 29 

Gubernatorial campaign and election. 1826 31 

Cook vs. Duncan, 1826 32 

Presidential election, 1828 35 

Gubernatorial campaign and election, 1830 36 

Shifting of political lines 38 

Presidential election, 1832 38 

Opposition to Van Buren 38 

Summary 39 

CHAPTER II. 

The Emergence of the Whig Party, 1834-1839 

Composition of parties 42 

Gubernatorial campaign and election, 1834 43 

9th General Assembly, 1834-36 47 

Fight over United States Bank 48 

White endorsed by senate 51 

Expunging resolution endorsed 51 

Van Buren endorsed by house 52 

Harrison becomes a candidate for president 54 

Presidential election of 1836, a three-cornered tight 55 

10th General Assembly, 1836-38 57 

Gubernatorial campaign and election, 1838 59 

nth General Assembly, 1838-40 60 

Summary 61 

CHAPTER III. 

Harrison and Tyler. 1839-1841 

Beginning of Whig organization 62 

Whig members of General Assembly meet 63 

Proposals for Whig state convention 64 

County meetings 64 

First Whig state convention 65 



PAGE 

Whig policies 65 

Nomination of Harrison 67 

Political machinery 68 

Lincoln's "famous plan" 69 

Characteristics of the campaign 69 

Issues 70 

Jackson's influence 75 

The "Springfield Junto" 76 

General election, August, 1840 76 

Presidential election, November, 1840 yy 

The foreign vote 79 

Field's contest for office 80 

Special session of the General Assembly 82 

The Bank question 83 

Reform of the judiciary 85 

Summary 87 

CHAPTER IV. 

Sectionalism and State Issues, 1841-1845 

Preponderance of local affairs 89 

Gubernatorial campaign and election, 1842 91 

Carlin's administration weak 92 

13th General Assembly,. 1842-44 93 

The banks put into liquidation 94 

The state debt 95 

State taxes 96 

Proposition for completing canal 97 

The Mormons in politics 99 

Attempts to impeach Judge Browne - 101 

14th General Assembly, 1844-46. 104 

Canal and interest legislation 107 

Sectionalism intensified 107 

Summary Ill 

CHAPTER V. 

The Illinois Whigs and National Politics, 1841-1845 

Political affiliations and local affairs 113 

The Whigs in power _ 114 

Harrison's death 115 

Tyler inaugurated 115 

Congressional election, 1841 117 

Tyler's veto of the Bank bill 118 

Breach between Tyler and the Whigs 118 

Congressional election, 1843 120 

"Address to the People of Illinois" 122 

Whig state convention, 1843 124 

Clay nominated, 1844 126 

Clay vs. Polk 126 

General election, August, 1844 129 

Presidential election, November, 1844 130 

Analysis of vote for president 130 

Appendix, shewing political affiliations 132 

Bibliography 151 

Index 161 



CHAPTER I. 

Genesis op the [llinois Whigs. 
1809-1834. 

Throughout the territorial period, and even before, political 

factions and cliques existed in Illinois. Local rather than 
national issues determined the lines of cleavage; and the location 
of these lines usually depended on personal adherenecs. Prior 
to about 1817, the bone of contention was the judiciary; one 
party supported, another opposed, the system as it, existed. Just 
before the government was changed from territorial to state, the 
slave question began to assume large proportions. Without any 
known reason the party that favored the judiciary favored the 
extension of slavery, and the anti-judiciary party became anti- 
extensionist. The struggle over the admission of Missouri, and 
tlie subsequent contest over the proposition to legalize slavery 
in Illinois, served to make the line of party cleavage more dis- 
tinct and to crj^stalize parties and factions. These parties and 
factions, with variations, persisted down to the time when the 
Whig party emerged in 1834. 1 

Ninian Edwards, governor of Illinois Territory from 1809 
to 1818, was the leader of one of the territorial factions, and lie 
continued until the time of his death in 1833 to be one of the 
prominent figures in Illinois politics. The leader of the faction 
opposed to Edwards was Shadrach Bond, who was the first 
territorial delegate in Congress from Illinois. 

Edwards had two able lieutenants in Nathaniel Pope and 
Daniel Pope Cook, both of whom held appointive offices in the 
territory. Pope was the first territorial secretary, holding that 
position until 1816, when he was elected delegate to Congress. 
Cook came to the territory in 1815, became auditor of public 
accounts the next year, served as clerk of the territorial house 
of representatives from 1816 to 1818, and in the latter year was 

'The study of Illinois politics from 1809 to about 1822 has been 
unsatisfactory. As far as the writer has been able to ascertain there is 
little contemporary evidence on the subject. See, however, Washburne, 
Edwards, no, 149, 150. 154, 159, 160; Churchill-Lippincott, (Third Paper) ; 

ern Intelligencer. August 21, 1816; EdwardsviUi Spectator, December 
4, 182 1 ; \V. H. Brown in Chicago American, December 22, 1840. 

9 



10 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [10 

elevated to the judiciary. Associated with Edwards, Pope and 
Cook were Thomas C. Browne and Pierre Menard, two men 
whose abilities, although of a different order, were only a little 
less than those of the leaders. Both served in the territorial 
legislature, the latter being president of the council during its 
entire existence from 1812 to 1818. Among the close political 
friends of Bond were Elias Kent Kane, John McLean, Jesse 
Burgess Thomas, and Michael Jones. Kane and Thomas were 
territorial judges and kept up a continuous controversy with 
Edwards over the functions of the judiciary, 2 McLean was a 
political free lance, while Jones appears to have opposed 
Edwards on personal grounds. Of the five prominent members 
of the Edwards faction, Pope, Cook and Browne were natives 
of Kentucky, Menard of Canada, and Edwards of Maryland. 3 
The nativity of the members of the other faction differed some- 
what : Bond and Thomas were born in Maryland ; Kane in New 
York; McLean in North Carolina; and Jones in Pennsylvania. 
With one or two exceptions all the ten leaders were lawyers, and 
at least three had had college training: Kane at Yale, Edwards 
at Dickinson, and Pope at Transylvania. 

Around Edwards were grouped his appointees, their friends, 
and all those who felt that adherence to him would further their 
own interests; opposed were disappointed office-seekers, their 
friends, those hostile to authority from a centralized source, and 
finally that frontier element which confounded liberty with 
license, and hence hated legal restraint. Between the political 
poles stood the great majority of the people. The division among 
this great majority was transitory, depending very much upon 
personal predilections and temporary issues. 

^Western Intelligencer, August 21, 1816. 

s To avoid being tedious, references in this work to such statements 
as nativity are omitted unless controverted and necessary for proof. 
Besides consulting the standard biographies and other works on Illinois 
history, members of the family have been appealed to, and on some occa- 
sions the inscriptions on grave stones have been used. Newspaper adver- 
tisements, and a consultation of circuit court records in the county 
archives may be depended upon for a determination of profession in many 
cases. Likewise in cases where there are disputes as to the spelling of 
proper names, the spelling found in contemporary public documents has 
been followed. E.g. T. C. Browne's name is usually spelled "Brown", 
but examination of the Eddy MSS. and court records shows that he spelled 
it with an "e". 



11 I 0BNBSD9 Of THE Illinois wmh;s 1 1 

The intensity of the political strife between the factions 
usually depended on the personal feelings of the leaden of one 

faction toward those of the Other, and not upon vital issues; 
and | - ion of hostilities oftentimes merely indicated a 

friendly understanding among the Leaders. At the beginning 

o\' Edwards' administration as territorial governor, he and Bond 

rid to have been persona] and political friends, and as early 

as dune. 1813, the latter wrote to Edwards saying, *'I agree with 

you that each one shall enjoy his own opinion, and rest assured 
that I shall act with candor and sincerity toward you." 4 Early 
in 1^14, Bond complained that certain people in the territory 
endeavoring to cause a rupture of good relationship be- 
tween him and the governor." Bond's resignation from Congress 
itober, 1814, to accept the position of receiver of public 
moneys would indicate at least that Edwards' superiors at "Wash- 
ington were not particularly hostile to him at that time. 

During the next few years there appears to have been a lull 
in political activities, but in 1818 Bond announced his candidacy 
for territorial delegate to Congress in opposition to that of his 
old political rival, Nathaniel Pope. Before the end of the sum- 
mer, however, Bond withdrew as a candidate for delegate, and 
entered the race for governor. 6 For this office he had no opposi- 
tion. 7 Menard, one of four candidates, was elected lieutenant- 
governor. 8 It is interesting to see how the other offices were 
distributed ; Bond appointed Kane to be secretary of state ; the 
General Assembly elected Edwards and Thomas United States 
senators, Cook attorney general, Browne and Phillips State 
Supreme judges; Pope was made a federal judge, McLean was 
elected to Congress; while Jones was at the time in the state 
senate. 

Thus all the leaders of the old territorial factions received 
office. It is too much to say in the absence of positive proof, 
that there was any sort of a deal whereby the offices were dis- 
tributed between the old factions, but when the unanimity with 
which the various officers were chosen is considered, one is led 

4 \Yashburne, Edzcards, ioi. 

"Washburne, Edwards, no. 

'Illinois Intelligencer, June ij, August 19, 1818. 

'Ibid. October 7, 1818. 

The candidates for lieutenant-governor were: Edward N. Cullom, 
Joseph Kitchell, P. Menard, and William L. Reynolds— Illinois Intelligen- 
cer, September 2, 1818. 



12 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [12 

to believe that at least a temporary truce had been declared. 
Such a conclusion is the more valid in the light of subsequent 
events. The elections were scarcely over before the struggle 
reopened with increased vigor. 

The only real contest during the first year of statehood was 
for the sole seat in the lower house of Congress. The two can- 
didates were John McLean and Daniel Pope Cook. The former 
was a resident of Gallatin, the latter of Randolph County. 
Although the results of the election were determined largely on 
the basis of the personal popularity of the candidates, of their 
recognized adherence to the old parties, and of the geographical 
location of their homes, the contest was characterized by the 
introduction of a real national issue, the influence of which must 
have affected the campaign. The Missouri question had by this 
time assumed an importance that justified its discussion from 
the stump. Cook took what may for convenience be called an 
anti-slavery attitude, in which in a general way he opposed the 
extension of the slavery system. 9 McLean took the opposite 
view, laying stress not only upon the right of the state to regu- 
late its domestic affairs independent of the national government, 
but also upon the desirability and value of slaves in any com- 
munity where they could be worked with profit. Cook was 
beaten by the slender majority of fourteen, but that campaign 
laid the foundation for a successful political career beginning 
the next year. 

Scarcely less important politically was Edwards' re-election 
to the Senate, in 1819, and Bond's hesitancy in coming out 
openly for or against him. In drawing for terms of service 
in the United States Senate, Edwards had draw^n the shorter, 
which ended March 4, 1819, scarcely four months after his 
election. As soon as this fact became known, opposition to his 
re-election arose, and his enemies united upon Michael Jones, 
who was an adherent of the old anti-Edwards faction. Feeling 
that the Edwards party was the stronger, a scheme was put on 
foot to eliminate Edwards from the race by dividing the state 
into two senatorial districts so arranged that Edwards and 
Thomas would reside in the same district. 10 The friends of the 

^Illinois Intelligencer, July 29, 1818. "I shall in this county [Pope] 
get a large vote, about one-half, some say more. I made a speech and 
excited warm opposition from slave men, but still warmer support from 
freemen." Cook to Edwards, August 3, 1818. Washburne, Edwards, 145. 

10 Washburne, 'Edwards, 149. 



i hi: ILLINOIS u H 

senator were able to defeat the measure id the b< 

Lected for a terra of 
ing twenty-three for -lours.- During this 

si E an s remained at his post a1 Washington. II.- 
• believed thai Bond was supporting him, but 
, s al Kaskaskia watching affairs, knew better and 
formed his chief." The truth seems to be that Bond was 
influenced by his old political allies to abandon Edwards and 
in the rehabilitation of the territorial faction formerly 
sed to Edwards. Bond wavered, however, in his decision 
whether or not he would support Edwards, and by so doing 
[lowed the Leadership of the anti-Edwards party to pass 
into the hands of McLean, Kane, and Thomas. 14 Associated 
with them were William Kinney, Dr. Alexander, Willis Bar- 
grave, Adolphus Hubbard, Robert K. McLaughlin and Michael 
3, all of whom afterwards played important roles in the 
political history of the state. 18 

Tlie congressional campaign of 1819 re-opened the slavery 
question and started anew the discussion of Missouri's admission 
into the union. As in 1818 the candidates were Cook and 
McLean. Since the campaign of the year before, the Missouri 
question had become more acute; and in Illinois the people fol- 
lowed with intense interest the congressional debates and news- 
r editorials on the admission of Missouri. They took this 
attitude toward the question, not because they had any par- 
ticular interest in the well-being of their neighbors across the 
river, but rather because their sympathies for and against the 
admission of Missouri with or without slavery, reflected their 
convictions on the extension of slavery, on discrimination against 
negroes, and on the sovereign rights of a state. As in 1818, 
an took a pro-slavery position, and Cook the opposite. 

"Senate Journal, 1818-19, p. 80. 

"Washburne, Edwards, 150. 

'"Washburne. Edzcards, 153. 

"Kane was apparently the only one of the three to remain in opposi- 
ti'-n to Edwards. McLean and Edwards seem to have come to some sort 
of an understanding, for in 1828 they are in confidential communication. 
See Washburne, Edzcards, 343. passim. In 1826, Thomas is said to have 
supported Cook and been friendly to Edwards. Sue Edwards: i!lc Spec- 
tator, September 15, 1826. As late as 1830 Kane and Edwards were carry- 
ing on a bitter newspaper war. See Washburne, Edwards, 400. passim. 

"Washburne, Edwards, 149, 150. 154. 159, 160. 



14 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [14 

After an exciting campaign in which the slavery question played 
a prominent part, Cook was elected by a substantial majority. 
Cook was certainly not an abolitionist as the term came to be 
used, nor does the result of the election show conclusively the 
feeling of the people on the extension of slavery ; yet in the light 
of the well known attitude of each candidate on the question of 
slavery, it may safely be assumed that of the voters who put 
measures before men, those opposed to slavery voted for Cook, 
while the conscious friends of the system supported McLean. 

The intrusion of the slavery question into the congressional 
elections of 1818 and 1819 served to crystalize parties. Cook 
found in the ranks of the opposition not only a great many of the 
members of the anti-Edwards party, but also those who were 
inclined to resent any kind of interference with the so-called 
Black laws in the states, and the institution of slavery in both 
states and territories. On the other hand, his frank denuncia- 
tion of "slavemen" brought to his support all classes to which 
slavery in any form was repungant. Thus the old territorial 
parties were being gradually reshaped. Cook's warm opposition 
to slavery alienated from him the ultra pro-slavery members of 
the Edwards party, while their places were taken in part by anti- 
slavery members of the anti-Edwards forces. Against Cook are 
found practically all the leaders favoring a call for a constitu- 
tional convention three years later, but the men that were to 
make themselves famous for their sturdy opposition to the intro- 
duction of slavery in 1822-4, had not yet entered the political 
lists; Birkbeck, Warren, Lippincott, and Peck were at this time 
wielding an effective influence against slavery, but it was from 
the pulpit or editorial office, not from the stump. 16 

Although there is nothing to indicate any opposition to the 
re-election of President Monroe in 1820, there appear to have 
been in each of the three districts, electoral tickets represent- 
ing the two parties or factions. 17 It would appear that each 

lc This is illustrated by a contemporary account. "The subject of 
slavery was discussed in the court yards, sometimes in the pulpits, and at 
all gatherings of the people, as well as in the presses, and on the stump 
throughout the state." Reynolds, My Own Times, 229. 

"Two candidates in each district receiving the largest vote were : 
1st, James B. Moore— 259; William Kinney— 191. 
2nd., Michael Jones — 441 ; Peter Kimmell— 90. 
3rd., Adolphus F. Hubbard— 238; Charles Campbell— 47- 
MSS. Electign Returns (Secretary of State's Office, Springfield, Illi- 
nois.) 



15] 8ENBSD9 OF THE Illinois wines L5 

faction had a desire to lionor one of its members in each dislriet 

by choosing him to be presidential elector, but to what extent. 

the factions divided over the issue it is impossible to say.' 8 The 

election resulted in the choice of two electors of the anti-Edwards 
party, Adolphnfl K. Bubbard and Michael .Jones, and one of the 

Edwards party, dames B. .Moore. 

At the preceding August election the anti-Edwards party- 
had supported Kane for Congress, while Cook sought re-elec- 
Cook exhibited his record in Congress as a basis for his 
candidacy, and at the same time declared his intention to vote 
for the Missouri Compromise. The result of the election sur- 
prised even the most optimistic Edwards men ; Kane was badly 
beaten, carrying but four counties. 20 

When the troublesome question of admitting Missouri into 
the Union had been settled, it was found, much to the chagrin 
of Cook's pro-slavery supporters, that he had voted against the 
Compromise. His political enemies planned immediately to take 
advantage of what seemed to them to be a very unpopular act. 
Accordingly, in 1822, they supported McLean in an effort to 
beat Cook, and incidentally to lessen the power of Senator 
Edwards, who was looming large in national politics. In spite 
of the defection of many of his pro-slavery supporters of two 
years before, Cook was re-elected. 21 In the meantime the oppon- 
ents of the Missouri Compromise introduced into the General 
Assembly a resolution calling upon Edwards and Thomas to 
resign their seats in the United States Senate, because, as the 

"In the presidential election held November 6, 1820, the electors were 
chosen by districts designated by the governor on September 4, 1820. See 
Lazes of Illinois, 1819, p. 101. 

"Senator Thomas was declared to be the head of the anti-Edwards 
party in 1820. See Edwardsvillc Spectator, August 29, 1820. It was during 
this campaign that an acrimonious press dispute took place between Kane 
and Edwards. The former charged that the latter inspired the editorial 
writings of Warren. To this charge Edwards replied with denials. 
Warren took up the controversy and denied that Edwards owned the 
Edwardsville Spectator. Sec issues of the Spectator, July 25, August 29, 
1820. 

'"Result of election : 

Cook, 3568; Kane. 2242; scattering, 7. The four counties car- 
ried by Kane were Wayne, Alexander, Crawford, Edwards. MSS. Elec- 
tion Returns. (Secretary of State's Office, Springfield, Illinois.) 

"Ibid. 



1,6 THE Illinois WHIGS [16 

►lution stated, their vote^ "againsl th restriction of slavery 
in Missouri" did not represent the known opinion of the " people 
of the state of Illinois."-- The resolution was voted down by a 
small majority, but its introduction and support indicate at 
least that a strong element in the state was prepared to refuse 
to follow the leadership of men who held materially differ- 
ent opinions. Edwards came in for greater criticism at 
the hands of the anti-slavery people than did Thomas, for he 
was known to have supported Cook against the pro-slavery 
crowd, and it was naturally a great disappointment to the anti- 
slavery men to see him favoring slavery. 23 

The continued agitation of the Missouri Question impressed 
the people with the growing importance of slavery as a political 
issue. The "friends of fredom" were repeatedly warned by 
Hooper Warren, editor of the Edwardsville Spectator, that plans 
were under way to repeal the anti-slavery clause of the state 
constitution. 24 A similar warning was given by the Missouri 
Republican. 2 * The peo'ple of northern Illinois appear to have 
regarded the matter much more seriously than did their neigh- 
bors in the southern counties. The former section opposed very 
generally the system wmerever found, while the latter did not 
become aroused until slavery threatened to encroach upon its 
bw r n limits. 

i In the midst of the slavery controversy, occurred the guber- 
natorial campaign and election of 1822. Four candidates offered 
themselves for governor; they were Edward Coles of Madison 

-'House Journal, 1820-21, pp. 134-5. 

^In a written communication the following charges were made 
against Edwards : 
i. 1. Supporting Missouri Compromise. 

2. Declaring in public that he approved of slavery. 

3. Knowing that a majority of people of Illinois opposed 
> slavery. 

4. Holding twenty-two negroes in Missouri. 

Edwardsville Spectator, July 4, 1820. 

^Warren specified his charge under four heads: (1) Kane to be 
brought out by the pro-slavery crowd for governor in 1822 ; (2) Hall had 
bought Kimmell's interest in the Shawneetown paper; (3) a newspaper 
favorable to slavery was to be established in Edwardsville by Mr. Street ; 
(4) Illinois Intelligencer had been persuaded to remain neutral. See 
Edwardsville Spectator, July 11, 1820. 

^Issue of January 2, 1823. 



17] 318 OF THE ILLINOIS WE 17 

'hillips of Eland olph, James B. Moore of Mod- 
and Thomas ( '. Bro^ I Uatin. aa 

It's was an outsider even in a country where preced snt 

had Little influence. The very fad that he had come to Illinois 

: few years before he announced himself for governor was 

against him. Moreover he had come in the role of a fed< pal 

holder. Coirs was the firsl to announce his candi 

he fact was not disguised that he stood forth as an opponenl 

very. The saving grace of his candidacy was thai he held 

nnection with cither of the old parties and hence had the 

enmity of neither. Besides he was in a position to build up a 

following among the newer settlers in the northern counties, who 

knew little and cared less for the squabbles of the old factions. 

A correspondent in speaking of his candidacy said: "lie may 

not have received any pledge of support from either of tic old 

parties, which have so long divided this state," while another 

pointed out that such a circumstance was greatly in his favor.- 7 

Although the columns of the EdwardsvUle Spectator were 

thrown open to Coles and his friends, its editor, Hooper Warren, 

2 *The idea has generally been accepted that Coles and Moore polled 
the anti-siavery vote, while Phillips and Browne were the out and out 
slavery candidates. Upon this belief as an hypothesis the natural conclu- 
sion has been drawn that a great majority of the people in Illinois in the 
year 1822 was favorable to slavery for the simple reason that Coles' and 
Moore's combined vote was less by some 2000 than the combined vote of 
Phillips and Browne. In the light of such a supposition and the large 
majority polled against slavery in 1824. the inference has been made that 
the pro-slavery strength of 1822 was more than offset by the anti-slavery 
immigration that came into the northern counties during those two years. 
It cannot be denied that the northern counties did receive a considerable 
anti-slavery immigration between 1822 and 1824, nor can it be reasonably 
doubted that Coles' vote was largely anti-slavery; the error arises in 
supposing that the vote for Phillips and Browne represented the pro- 
slavery strength. The lines dividing the anti-slavery and pro-slavery 
parties were cut and recut by otber party lines, many of which were too 
rigid to give way under the stress of the slavery agitation of 1822. On 
account of such conditions the issue has remained clouded, .and not until 
the political alignments are clearly understood can any definite determina- 
tions be made. Warren gives a good view of the situation in Edwards- 
vitte Spectator, February 6, 1821. 

"Edwardsville Spectator, December 5, iSji. 



18 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [18 

opposed his candidacy.- 8 Here is seen the spectacle of two of 
the leading anti-slavery leaders out of harmony at a time when 
both professed to believe that the pro-slavery forces were plot- 
ting the disgrace of the state ; and in refusing to sink their dif- 
ferences they almost brought about the very thing they were 
trying to prevent. 

The second candidate in point of time was Joseph Phillips, 
chief justice of the state supreme court. Warren attacked his 
candidacy with great bitterness, charged him with being the 
leader of the pro-slavery forces, and declared that he had made 
an unholy alliance with the "ministerial officers of the state." 29 
The pro-slavery press called on the "Friends of Liberal Prin- 
ciples ' ' to support Phillips for governor. 30 In the light of public 
utterances of both parties there can be no reasonable doubt that 
Phillips was friendly to the introduction of slavery. 

The third candidate was James B. Moore, who was an old 
soldier, having served .with the "rangers" during the War of 
1812. So far as an examination of contemporary newspapers 
discloses he had no other platform than a desire to obtain the 
highest office in the state. His neighbors claimed that the next 
governor ought to come from Monroe County, and because of 
this feeling they supported his candidacy. 31 

The fourth candidate to offer himself was Browne, who at 
the time w r as associated on the state supreme bench with Judge 
Phillips. Browne was a close friend of Edwards, and used 
Warren's paper to put his candidacy before the people. 32 It 
would be true to say that Browne was ambitious for office at 
this time as he was all through life, yet the fact that he used a 
paper supported by Edwards and edited by Warren as a means 
for getting political support is something more than a coinci- 
dence. None of the three other candidates was acceptable to 
Edwards and Warren, hence the bringing out of Browne by the 
Edwards party. With this fact established there remains to be 
examined the relation between Browne's candidacy and the 
slavery question. Just what his personal attitude was has 

28 W. H. Brown in Chicago American, December 22, 1840; Edwards- 
ville Spectator, October 30, December 4, 1821. 
^Edwardsville Spectator, April 17, 1821. 
^Illinois Intelligencer, July 3, 1821. 
zl Edwardsville Spectator, October 24, 1820. 
^See Edwardsville Spectator, July 22, 1822. 



19] GENESffl OF THE [LLINOIS WHIGS 19 

failed to be recorded.''' Yet it would have been the heighl of 

inconsistency for ^'anvn not to have attacked Browne's cnndi- 
dacy, had it been brought forward to secure the election of 
Phillips, as some have said,' 1 or to further the slavery interests 
in any way whatever. It* Warren had supported a candidate 
who stood for slavery, lie was either a knave or a fool; yet he 
was neither. Browne is known to have favored a canal from 
the lakes to the Mississippi, and this project was being opposed 
by the pro-slavery party. In taking this attitude Browne was 

^'On account of Browne's candidacy being the disturbing element in 
this campaign, his platform is well worth preservation, and is given below. 
Fellow Citizens : 

It is a very common thing for candidates for the suffrage of the 
people to make the tender of their services with an apology of having 
been induced thereto by the solicitation of numerous friends and acquaint- 
ances, and to gratify the wish of a large proportion of the people. I am 
not going to make this apology or that such preference was made with 
reference to my candidacy, for in most cases their choice is their own, 
but candor, I think, is best at all times. I am free to confess the plain 
honest truth that in becoming a candidate for governor that I have been 
influenced mainly by my own desire to fill that important position and to 
acquire the honorable reputation by discharging these duties with impar- 
tial fidelity and usefulness. It has, I am informed, been objected to me 
that I am opposed to a canal for connecting the waters of Lake Michigan 
and Illinois River. Nothing could be less true I assure you. A friend 
to internal improvements and to the most direct and easy intercommunica- 
tion between the different parts of our happy nation, I consider the con- 
nect ion of the northern lakes with our own waters not only calculated to 
produce great political and commercial advantages, but also to piomote 
immigration to our own state, a hope which no true friend to it can regard 
with indifference. In conclusion fellow citizens I have only to remark 
that should I be elected (which by the kind efforts of the people I believe 
I will) it shall be my constant endeavor by every effort in my power 
to advance our agricultural, commercial and manufacturing interests; to 
promote education throughout the state with equal regard to the just 
claims of each respective community, and to protect the political, civil 
and just rights of all and each one of my fellow citizens with equal right 
impartially. — Edwardsz'ille Spectator, July 22, 1822. 

M See Washburne, Coles, 59. Phillips expressed the opinion in a 
private letter that the coming out of other candidates was not to assist 
his candidacy but to hurt it. lie was apparently speaking of Browne's 
candidacy. See Sloo Correspondence, 51. 



20 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [20 

in full accord with the principles advanced and supported by 

Edwards and his party. 

It was considered by one who participated in the slavery 
struggle of 1824 that the real contest lay between Phillips and 
Browne. 86 In fighting each other the leaders of the old factions 
failed to take into consideration the new vote in the northern 
part of the state. Unlike their neighbors in the southern counties 
the northern settlers regarded the slavery question with great 
seriousness. To them the struggle of the old parties appeared 
secondary to the more important one against slavery. Thus 
these people were very much in earnest in their opposition to 
any candidate whose public record or utterances from the stump 
stamped him as friendly to slavery; and they formed a third 
party, which was strikingly sectional." 7 This section comprised 
the northern and central .counties, only one of which McLean, 
the pro-slavery candidate for Congress, was able to carry. 

The indifference to the question of slavery as manifested by 
the supporters of Browne and Phillips in the southern counties 
offers a striking contrast to the above. At the same election 
Cook, the anti-slavery candidate for Congress, carried seventeen 
counties, of which five gave majorities or pluralities for Phillips 
and three for Browne. Cutting across all party and factional 
lines and adding confusion to the situation, was the large vote 
polled by the respective candidates in their own neighborhoods. 
Thus McLean and Browne, both of whom were from the eastern 
side of the state, were favorites in that section ; while Cook and 
Phillips received the support of their neighbors in the western 
counties. 

^See Illinois Intelligencer, July 21, 1824. In a communication ap- 
parently intended for publication, Edwards states clearly that the pro- 
slavery people had opposed the canal. See N. Edwards, Communication, 
August Election, 1828. (Eddy MSS.) Before Browne became a candi- 
date Edwards was urged to offer himself for governor. See Washburne, 
Edwards, 190. Edwards' opposition to Coles may have been due to his 
opposition to Crawford. Edwards was a zealous Calhoun man, and sup- 
ported that statesman for years. See Sloo, Correspondence, 77. 

30 W. H. Brown in Chicago American, December 22, 1840. 

37 See Edzvardsville Spectator, December 4, 1821. 



21 QSNESK OF tin: [LLINOI8 WHIGS 21 

lee was elected, but by a plurality vote; he received Leaa 
tbau one-third of all the votes east at the election.* 8 The original 

election schedules with a l*e\v exceptions have been lost or 

destroyed. Those remaining offer an opportunity for partial 

reconstruction of parties and tickets. Of the 147 voters Support- 
ing Coles in Springfield Township, Sangamon County, but :$4 

supported McLean for Congress. The 86 votes for Phillips and 
the 14 \'ov Browne, were distributed in each case between the 
candidates for Congress, Cook and McLean, in the ratio of 8 
to ti. ' In Vandalia, the state capital, those voting for Coles 
very generally voted for Cook. In East Fork Township of the 
same county. Coles, Phillips and Browne each received 8 votes; 
Cook received 6 of the Coles votes, 4 of the Phillips votes, and 
2 of the Browne votes. Bankson Township of the same county 
offers an extreme illustration of political vagary. In that town- 
ship Coles received 16 votes, Phillips 17. Moore 1, and Browne 
2 : and every one of the 36 voted for Cook. 4l> In a way these few 
cases are typical. 41 Coles and Cook very generally received the 
support of the same voters, while those supporting Browne and 
Phillips divided their votes between McLean and Cook, their 
individual preferences resting upon factional adherence, personal 
following, sectional pride, and in some cases upon national 
issues. 

The result of the election was not so much a victory for 
freedom as it was one for the new party in the northern counties. 
It demonstrated the fact that thenceforth this new element in 
the state must be considered in political contests. More than that 

M The vote for governor was distributed among the candidates as 
follows : Coles, 2854 ; Phillips, 2687 ; Browne, 2443 ; Moore, 622. 

MSS. Election Returns (Secretary of State's Office, Springfield, Illi- 
nois). 

Coles should be credited with one vote more than shown in the re- 
turns in the secretary of state's office owing to a mistake in making up 
the totals in Fayette County. 

"MSS. Election Returns (Sangamon County Court House, Spring- 
field, Illinois.) 

"'MSS. Election Returns (Fayette County Court House, Vandalia, 
Illinois.) 

"The election returns for Edwards County, which are only frag- 
mentary, illustrate sectional loyalty. Browne, who held court in that 
county, was very generally supported by the voters of Albion, the county 
seat. 



22 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [22 

it brought to the front new men, and paved the way for new 
political alignments; it showed that the political center of 
gravity had moved northward since the organization of the state ; 
in a word it brought prominently to the front the importance of 
issues and principles, and tended to subordinate personality as a 
political force. 

During the campaign of 1822 there arose a respectable 
demand for calling a convention to change the state constitu- 
tion. The friends of slavery very generally favored the conven- 
tion proposition, and justified their position by pointing out the 
advisability of changing the constitutional provision regulating 
the judiciary. They emphasized the fact that the constitution 
of 1818 had never been formally accepted by the people at the 
polls, and some even questioned its legality. All this the anti- 
slavery leaders professed to believe was a subterfuge for legaliz- 
ing slavery by a constitutional amendment. The introduction 
of open-and-above-board slavery could be brought about only 
by an amendment to the constitution, for that instrument forbade 
slavery except in a few special and relatively unimportant 
cases; 42 and amending the constitution was possible only by 
means of a constitutional convention, the calling of which de- 
pended upon the recommendation of "two-thirds of the General 
Assembly," and finally by a majority vote of the people. 43 

The anti-slavery forces very generally opposed all agitation 
on the question of changing the constitution, and in fact any 
discussion that might lead to a demand for such a change. Gov- 

42 There has been considerable speculation about the slavery clause in 
the constitution of 1818. The Illinois Republican, June 30, 1824, states 
that the constitutional convention of 1818 was made up of 21 anti-slavery 
and 12 pro-slavery members. (Quoted in Churchill-Lippincott, Ninth 
Paper.) It is certain that the question of slavery was discussed at the 
convention. The opinion got abroad that slavery was to be legalized by 
the constitution, and as a result an address against the system was sent 
to the convention. Because of the prominence of some of its signers in 
politics at a later date, their names are here given : from St. Clair County, 
Risdon Moore, Benj. Waits, Jacob Ogle, Joshua Oglesby, William Scott, 
Sr., William Biggs, George Blair, Charles R. Matheny, James Garretson, 
William Kinney; from Madison County, William B. Whiteside; from 
Monroe County, James Lemon, Sr. ; from Washington County, W. H. 
Bradsby. — Illinois Intelligencer, August 5. 1818. Kane was said to have 
been in favor of legalizing slavery, but in 1820 he denied that such was 
the case. See Edwardsville Spectator, July 25, 1820. 

^Constitution, 1818, Art. VII., par. 1. 



28] QBNSD8 OF TBI Illinois WHIGS 28 

ernoi Coles, however, seems do1 to have taken this attitude. In 
liis inaugural address delivered before the joint session of the 

two houses, he boldly and perhaps unexpectedly to all parties, 

orged the advisability of radical legislation regarding negroes 

both free and slave. 44 It was his expressed desire not only to 
remove all legal restrictions imposed upon free negroes, but 
what was more important, to set in motion legislation that would 
make Illinois a free state in fact as well as in name. In both 
branches of the General Assembly the pro-slavery element was 
in the majority, yet that part of the governor's message relating 
to negroes was received with apparent approval. 

The General Assembly hearkened to Coles' admonitions but 
hardly in the way he expected. A committee on "abrogation 
of slavery and the kidnapping of free negroes" was selected in 
each house, and on both committees friends of the proposition 
to make Illinois a slave state predominated. 43 The temper of 
the conventionists, a term usually applied to those favoring a 
convention to amend the constitution, is expressed in the report 
of the senate select committee : ' ' Illinois was admitted into the 
Union upon an equal footing with the original states in all re- 
spects whatever; and . . . the people of Illinois have now 
the same right to alter their constitution as the people of the 
state of Virginia, or any of the original states." 46 Thus the 
pioneer lawmakers of Illinois struck at the very root of the 
question when they challenged the validity of the Ordinance 
of 1787. There were able arguments for and against the position 
taken by the committee, and a majority of the members of the 
General Assembly accepted the doctrine as sound. 

"In a letter to Nicholas Biddle, Coles gives the reason for his un- 
expected move against slavery. "Knowing that this measure would be 
strenuously urged during the late session of the Legislature, and that 
many who professed to be hostile to the further introduction of Slavery, 
would advocate it, and believing that it would have a salutary effect to 
furnish them an opportunity of evincing the sincerity of their profes- 
sions ... I called the attention of the Legislature to the existence of 
Slavery in the State, in violation of the great fundamental principles of 
the ordinance, and recommended that just and equitable provision be made 
for its abrogation." Washburne, Coles, 147-8. 

^The personnel of the senate committee is significant in the light 
of future politics : Boon, Ladd, Kinney and Beaird. — Senate Journal, 
1822-3, p. 33. 

"Senate Journal, 1822-3, p. 16 passim. 



24 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [24 

The struggle in the General Assembly over the proposition 
to recommend to the voters the calling of a constitutional con- 
vention was extremely bitter and served to divide the slavery 
men from the anti-slavery men. Hitherto many had held an 
uncertain position, but with the realization that the legislative 
journals would bear evidence of their position, those wavering 
took definite positions for or against slavery. The friends of 
slavey were not only in the majority, but they were led by more 
able leaders than were their opponents. 47 After considerable 
manoeuvering on the part of the conventionists the question 
came to a vote and fell short of the necessary two-thirds by one 
vote. Finally the measure passed the senate by a vote of twelve 
to six, and the single vote in the house necessary to make the 
required two-thirds majority was secured by reopening an 
earlier election contest, and unseating Hansen of Pike County, 
who had voted in the negative. The next day, February 12, 1823, 
the measure passed the house by a vote of twenty-four to twelve, 
and the question of a constitutional convention was legally sub- 
mitted to the people for their consideration, with the tacit under- 
standing that a convention meant the introduction of slavery 
into the state. 48 

47 Perhaps the most prominent pro-slavery leader was Alexander Pope 
Field, Jackson man in 1824, anti-Van Buren in 1836, Whig in 1840 and 
afterwards, and later a Unionist in Louisiana. 

i% Senate Journal, 1822-3, p. 161 ff. ; House Journal, 1S22-3, p. 200 
passim. So much has been said about the real feeling of the people on 
the question of slavery, that it seems worth while at this place to examine 
the relation of the members of the General Assembly to their respective 
constituencies. Upon the basis of the vote for and against a convention 
in 1824, the following conclusions and facts are presented : 

1. With the exception of Emmett (White) and Mather (Ran- 
dolph) all the anti-conventionists really represented their respective 
constituencies. 

2. Of the twenty-four conventionists, thirteen were from con- 
vention counties (i.e., those giving a majority vote in favor of calling 
a convention), ten from anti-convention counties, and one from a 
county (Johnson) that was evenly divided for and against a con- 
vention. 

In the election of members of the General Assembly in 1824, three 
anti-convention candidates were defeated in anti-convention counties as 
follows : 

1. Lowe/y was beatpn in Clark and Edgar by Archer, another 



25 OP THE [LLINOIB WHIG8 25 

The year and a hall convention campaign (February 12, 
L823-Augus1 3, 1824) was Long drawn oul and hard fought. 
Leadership was recruited from every available source. Many 
prominent men, particularly those who had come to the state 

since ISIS, had hitherto interested themselves very little in tint 
personal and political struggles between Nd wards and his 
enemies; but with the coming to the front of the slavery ques- 
tion they threw oil* their indifference and assumed the role of 
leaders. During the discussion of the Missouri question these 
same men had been content to denounce the system of slavery 
in generalities, but with its threatened encroachment upon their 
homes they went seriously to the task of exposing the evils inci- 
dent to it by the use of specific arguments. Pressure was 
brought to bear upon all the newspapers in the state to compel 
them to take sides in the controversy, and their scathing and 
acrimonious editorials and signed articles brought forth bitter 
replies. 49 Counties, towns, neighborhoods, and even families 
were divided, 50 and personal encounters between over-zealous 
partizans were not at all uncommon. The conventionists threat- 
ened to import voters from the old slave states, and to prevent 
this the anti-conventionists organized themselves into societies 
and appointed vigilance committees. 51 The anti-conventionists 

anti-convention man. 

2. McGahey was beaten in Crawford, where there were five 
candidates, he being second and having fifty-five votes less than the 
successful candidate. 

3. G. T. Pell was beaten in Edwards. 

Mather, anti-conventionist, was re-elected in a convention county. 
In this election, five conventionists were beaten as follows : 

1. Alexander in Monroe, anti-convention county. 

2. Campbell in Wayne, convention county. 

3. Field in Union, anti-convention county. 

4. Shaw in Pike, anti-convention county. 

5. West in Madison, anti-convention county. 

MSS. Election Returns (Secretary of State's Office, Springfield, Illi- 
nois). 

°E.g. see Illinois Intelligencer, February 15, 1823; Scott, Illinois 
Newspapers, 340. 

^"With us the Convention is the most interesting subject. It is a 
dish which is daily, nay hourly served up. . . . Party feeling is carried 
further here than it ever was in Massachusetts." — Portfolio, XVII., 524. 

"W. Kinkade to A. Williams, September 15. 1823. (Williams- 
Woodbury MSS.) 



26 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [26 

based their arguments against a convention on purely anti- 
slavery principles. They contended that the introduction of 
slavery was morally wrong and economically unwise. 5 - The 
conventionists argued in some quarters that the constitution 
needed revising and denied that it was their intention to bring 
up the question of slavery. In other quarters they came out 
boldly for the introduction of slavery, and pointed out the 
necessity for such action if the Yankees were to be kept from 
the state/' 3 

An examination of the personnel of the two parties is worth 
while, in that it offers the opportunity for a study of section- 
alism and later political affiliations. Of the thirty leading anti- 
conventionists, fifteen appear to have been born in the North, 
fourteen in the South, and one in England ; and aside from that 
distinctive group of newcomers represented by such men as 
Hooper Warren, George Churchill, and Governor Coles, the 
principal element in the make-up of this leadership owed 
nominal allegiance to the Edwards party. If from the conven- 
tionist forces, fifty of the most prominent leaders be chosen, it 
is found that some twenty-eight or thirty were natives of the 
South, about fifteen of the North, Hve of Europe, and one of 
Illinois. 54 On account of the large percentage of northerners 
found in the leadership of both parties, two very important 
questions are raised : Was the strength of the northern element 
in Illinois at that time greater than has generally been suspect- 
ed, or did the members of that element hold office and assume 

52 In a letter to Governor Coles, Robert Vaux lays bare the arguments 
of the anti-conventionists : "One of these tracts is designed to show the 
impolicy and unprofitableness of slave labor. . . . Another essay ex- 
hibits a succinct account of the cruelties of the slave trade. . . ; and 
a third pamphlet is intended to show that the interminable bondage of 
any portion of the human race is, on the part of the oppressors, a flagrant 
violation of natural and Divine Justice, and utterly inconsistent with the 
doctrines of our Holy Redeemer." — Washburne, Coles, 158-9. 

^Illinois Republican, July 21, 1824. 

M To avoid any criticism that might arise from taking a selected 
group of leaders of either party, every member of the General Assembly 
of 1822-3, and all others listed by contemporary accounts as conven- 
tionists or anti-conventionists have been included in the above list. It is 
impossible to give all references to data of nativity, but the most helpful 
sources have been Washburne, Coles, 106 ff. ; Illinois Intelligencer, January 
:ii, 1823; Missouri' Republican, January 29, 1823. 



27] OENESDB OF THB ILLINOIS WHIGS tft 

leadership oul of all proportion to its voting strength! Wfeen 

more thorough investigations have been made it is likely that 

both questions will be answered in the affirmative 

The election of 1824 (August 3) resulted in a complete vic- 
tory for the anti-slavery forces. Not only was the convention 
proposition defeated by a large majority, hut Cook, against 
whom the convention forces had pitted Governor Bond, was 
re-elected to Congress. The counties that had supported Coles 
for governor in 1822, declared very generally against the propo- 
sition to call a convention, but the anti-convention vote in these 
counties would have been of no avail without the assistance of 
the anti-convention elements in the southern parts of the state. 
Although Coles had received but four per cent, of the entire vote 
cast in Alexander County in 1822, the convention forces were 
able to carry that county by only a small majority; and the 
election returns of Gallatin, Johnson, Franklin, Wayne, Ran- 
dolph and Jefferson counties show that hundreds who voted for 
Browne or Phillips in 1822, voted against the convention two 
years later. In none of the counties mentioned had the Coles 
vote been greater than fifteen per cent., yet the vote against a 
convention varied from eighteen per cent, in Gallatin to forty- 
five per cent, in Randolph County. Although Coles had received 
a little more than seventeen per cent, of the entire vote in 
Lawrence and Union counties, less than two-fifths of the voters 
in those counties gave their support to the convention proposi- 
tion. 

On account of the all-absorbing slavery question, the presi- 
dential election of 1824 received scant attention at the hands 
of the voters, and contemporary accounts differ as to the rela- 
tion between the conventionists and anti-conventionists on the 
one hand, and the presidential candidates on the other. The 
election returns indicate that Adams' greater strength was in the 
counties in which the anti-conventionists were in the majority; 
in fact every county carried by Adams gave a majority against 
the convention. Yet his strength in the convention counties 

K An examination of the Edwardsville Spectator for the years 1820-6, 
and the Missouri Republican for the same period throws light on this 
question. In the notice of deaths one is struck by the fact that in those 
notices in which the nativity of the deceased is given, a majority is from 
free states. S. J. Buck, The New England Element in Illinois Politics 
before 1833. (Proceedings of the Mississippi Valley Historical Associa- 
tion, 1912-13, p. 49, ff.) 



28 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [28 

along the Mississippi River was very respectable. Of the twelve 
counties carried by Jackson, nine gave majorities for, and two 
against, the convention, and in the twelfth county the vote was 
a tie. Clay was the choice of three counties only, all of which 
opposed calling a convention, but in four Adams counties the 
Clay vote was considerable. An examination of election returns 
shows that on the whole the Adams and Jackson strength ran 
to extremes, while Clay was held as a second choice. Among 
the leaders, however, a slightly different situation arose. Craw- 
ford was the natural choice of the leaders of the anti-Edwards 
party, 68 but because his candidacy had never created an}' 
enthusiasm in Illinois these leaders were constrained to support 
a more popular candidate ; and in this case the candidate sup- 
ported was Jackson. 57 Edwards and his close political friends 
were Calhoun men and bitterly opposed to Crawford,"' 8 but they 
appear to have been unable to unite on any one of the other 
three candidates. For instance, Cook was for Adams,"' 9 and 
Eddy for Jackson ; 60 while Edwards himself was non-committal 
with a leaning toward Adams. 61 

Both parties in the convention contest appear to have 
accepted the results of the election as final, 02 and never after- 
wards were the people of Illinois asked to vote for and against 

56 Senator Thomas was a member of the Congressional Caucus that 
nominated Crawford in February, 1824. Thomas' appointment as bank 
examiner in Illinois by Crawford was severely criticized by the friends of 
Edwards. See Illinois Intelligencer, February 15, 1823. Kane, McLean, 
Smith, West, and Kinney, all anti-Edwards men acknowledged that they 
had been Crawford supporters. See Illinois Intelligencer, May 8, 1830. 

57 Dr. Todd (conventionist) was candidate as Clay elector; A. P. 
Field (conventionist) was elected as Jackson elector. 

58 As long as Calhoun was a candidate for president, Edwards sup- 
ported him. See Washburne, Edwards, 216, passim. 

59 See D. P. Cook to H. Eddy, April 24, 1824, May 19, 1825. (Eddy 
MSS.) 

^Eddy was Jackson elector in 1824. 

61 G. Forquer to H. Eddy, December 15, 1827. (Eddy MSS.) 

^"That question [slavery] is supposed to be forever set at rest, and 
the hardy sons of New England may continue to migrate to this fertile 
region, whither so many of their countrymen have gone before them." — 
Portfolio, XVIII. , 506. "In six months after the question was settled, 
a politician who was in favor of the introduction of slavery in the state, 
was a rara avis." — Western Annals, 793. 



GENESIS OF THE ILLINOIS wn 29 

tlif introduction of slavery into the state. Although five-sixths 
of the members of the Fourth General Assembly had been chosen 
at the same election at which the convention proposition had 
been defeated by a decisive majority, that body elected to the 

United States Senate two of the ablest and most zealous advocates 
of the proposition to introduce slavery, namely, .John McLean 
and Elias Kent Kane. A writer on this period has said con- 
cerning this election that "there is nothing stranger than this 
in OUT political history."'"'' The explanation for such a political 
paradox rests not upon a study of the convention parties, but 
rather upon older political alignments. The majority of the 
General Assembly of 1824-5 was not necessarily pro-slavery and 
pro-convention because it elected men of that belief to office; 
the issue of slavery and convention ceased to have active life 
after the election of 1824. The majority owed political allegiance 
to the enemies of Mr. Edwards, and nothing was more natural 
than that this majority should honor two of its leaders by elect- 
ing them to the United States Senate, — one to fill out a vacancy 
and the other to succeed him. Thus the three leaders of the anti- 
Edwards party, Thomas, McLean and Kane, were members or 
members-elect of the United States Senate. 

The failure of any one of the four presidential candidates 
to receive a majority of the electoral votes complicated political 
matters in the state, and made a lasting impress upon its parties 
and official personnel. When the presidential election devolved 
upon the House of Representatives, Daniel Pope Cook, sole rep- 
resentative from Illinois, was forced to choose among the three 
candidates, Jackson, Adams and Crawford. When there seemed 
a possibility before the presidential election of 1824, that there 
would be no choice at the polls, Cook announced that his official 
vote in the House, should such a contingency arise, would be 
guided by the wish of a majority of his constituents. 64 In the 
election Jackson had carried two of the three districts in the 
state, but no one of the candidates had received a majority of the 
popular vote.'''" Because of the doubtful lines that divided the 

"Washburne, Coles, 194. 

"Illinois Republican, July 24, 1824; Edwards, Edwards, 261-2; D. P. 
Cook to H. Eddy, April 24, 1824, May 19, 1825. (Eddy MSS.) 

"Voting for presidential electors was by districts. An echo of the 
meeting of the electors came in the year 1828. When the electors met 
at Vandalia Harrison and Field each wished to carry the results to 



30 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [30 

candidates Cook had no guide other than a rough estimate of 
who would have carried the state had Adams and Jackson been 
the only candidates. 66 Under these circumstances he seems to 
have come to the conclusion that a majority of the people pre- 
ferred Adams, and cast his vote accordingly. In the absence 
of a clear mandate from his constituents he justified his act on 
the ground that Adams was better fitted for the presidency 
than was Jackson or Crawford. 

The election of Adams, or better the defeat of Jackson, 
determined very largely the political alignments in the United 
States for the next twenty years, and because of Cook's vote 
this statement is particularly true of conditions in Illinois. As 
soon as the people learned through the medium of Jackson's 
astute managers that "the old hero had been cheated out of his 
rights, ' ' and that the ' ' will of the people had been thwarted by 
a corrupt bargain ' ' entered into by Adams and Clay, they rallied 
to the Jackson standard. Cook's close affiliation with the anti- 
convention party had the effect of throwing headlong into the 
Jackson camp his opponents, who had been on the whole pro- 
conventionists and adherents of the Thomas-Kane-McLean party. 
The northern, anti-convention, or Coles party, had very gen- 
erally voted for Adams, and his selection by the House of Repre- 
sentatives met with the approbation of that party. The great 
bulk of the old Edwards party appears to have espoused the 
Jackson cause after Adams' election. Thus growing out of the 

Washington. Eddy, the third elector, did not believe that an elector 
was qualified to perform such a task. Harrison was chosen, and when 
Field was a congressional candidate in 1836 it was urged that he was 
not a good Jackson man because he had allowed Harrison to carry the 
vote. Eddy was appealed to in the matter to prove that Field had been 
a good Jackson man. See H. Eddy to A. P. Field, June 11, 1828. (Eddy 
MSS.) 

C6 It is probable that Cook felt that the vote for Clay, who was not a 
candidate before the House, would have been given very generally under 
other circumstances for Adams. There was one circumstance upon which 
the friends of Cook have based a very ingenious argument. In one of 
the districts there was in addition to the regular Clay, Adams, and Jackson 
tickets, a fourth going under the name "Jackson and Clay." It has been 
charged that the supporters of this ticket, several hundreds in number, 
were Crawford men, who preferred not to come out openly for their 
champion. All this, in the absence of positive proof, is conjecture. See 
Edwards, Edwards, 260, passim. 



31] (.i;m;sis of riii; Illinois wines 31 

convention eontest of 1S24, and the presidential election of 
1824 5, Were three more or less distinct parties: the ultra, or, 
as it was more familiarly called, the " whole hog" Jackson 
party ;' ;: B party favoring Jackson, the members of which 
were called "milk and cider'' Jackson men; and finally the anti- 
Jackson party, which was confined principally to the northern 
counties, and made up on the whole of the more radical anti- 
slavery elements. 61 As we shall see presently the first formed 
the nucleus of the Democratic party, the last, the National 
Republican and later the Whig party, while the second broke 
up, one part going to the Whigs, another part to the Democrats. 
In 1826, the two leading gubernatorial candidates were 
Ninian Edwards and Thomas Sloo Jr., both of whom were pro- 
fessed Jackson men but of a different type. Sloo seems to have 
been the candidate of the "whole hog" Jackson element, 69 while 
Edwards received the support of the more temperate Jackson 
men; and an examination of the election returns indicates that 
the anti-Jackson vote was divided between them, the larger part 
going to Edwards. A third candidate was Adolphus F. Hub- 
bard, who was more radical in his support of Jackson than was 
Sloo. Edwards was elected, but by a plurality vote, the com- 
bined strength of his opponents exceeding his by nearly two 

87 One definition of a "whole hog" Jackson man : "A fiery tempered 
person, who has no opinion of his own, but votes, and praises, and cen- 
sures, and turns, just as he is bid by the county caucus." — Cincinnati 
American, September 20, 1830. 

"Similar divisions in the Jackson ranks are to be found in other 
states. In Ohio such divisions appear, but to them more polite terms were 
applied than was the case in Illinois. There the "whole hog" faction bore 
the name "dyed in the wool." — Ohio State Journal, October 28, 1830; 
Scioto Gazette, April 24, November 3, 1830. 

"Reynolds, My Own Times, 262. "He, Edwards, was opposed by all 
the old members of the legislature, who had supported the many unwise 
measures of finance, and by the whole bank influence, from the President 
down to the lowest agents, who had in any wise cause to fear an investiga- 
tion." Ford, History of Illinois, 64. This evidence may be biased, as 
Ford and Edwards were confidential friends about this time. See Wash- 
burne, Edwards, 438. In a letter to Henry Clay, Edwards says : "As to 
myself, I had to encounter all the opposition of the gre^at body of the 
Jackson interest, and to tell you the truth (for I feel no motive to con- 
ceal anything of the kind) I used all the policy in my power, and freely 
subjected myself to great risk, to force all my opponents to come out 
on that side of the question." Washburne, Edwards, 261. 



32 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [32 

h-iinderd votes. 70 On account of the political unrest of the time, 
and the shifting of population due to immigration and the ten- 
dency of the people of the southern counties to move northward, 
the election lacks that sectional aspect which is so characteristic 
of early Illinois politics. Edwards' strength lay in the extreme 
southern counties, in the northern and west central counties, 
and in a few counties adjacent to the Indiana line. 71 

For the sixth time Cook offered himself in 1826 as a can- 
didate for Congress. Since his vote for Adams the year before, 
the tide had turned against him, and each day saw it running 
higher. Despite the feeling on the part of some of the Jackson 
leaders that the election of Adams was not the result of a bar- 
gain between Adams and Clay, 72 the charge made by Jackson's 
managers that such was the case seems to have been believed 
very generally in Illinois; and those so believing naturally 
opposed Cook. It would be safe to say that Cook's vote for 
Adams in 1825 brought about his political downfall, although 
his closest friend denied that such was the case. 73 Cook's 
opponent was Joseph Duncan. Young Duncan was no cam- 
paigner, lacked the magnetism of his adversary, and cut a sorry 
figure in comparison with the brilliant Cook. Yet he was elected 
in spite of this handicap, for Cook carried still greater handi- 



70 The vote for governor was distributed among the candidates as 
follows : Edwards, 6280 ; Sloo, 5833 ; Hubbard, 580. 

MSS. Election Returns (Secretary of State's Office, Springfield, Illi- 
nois). 

n In his campaign for governor Edwards made capital of his trouble 
with Crawford. It was his belief that the "A.B." affair was a strength 
to his candidacy. See N. Edwards to H. Eddy, February 2, 1825 ; J. Mc- 
Lean to H. Eddy, February 3, 1825 ; N. Edwards to J. Marshall, June 29, 
1826. (Eddy MSS.) 

72 "No man I think believes that there is the least foundation for the 
accusation against Mr. Clay and no man effects to credit it but Mr. 
Kremer." J. McLean to H. Eddy, February 3, 1825. (Eddy MSS.) For 
further views on the subject of the alleged bargain see, Colton, Clay, IV., 
109 ff, V., 299, 341; Benton, View, I., 48; Adams, Memoirs, VI., 483; 
Edwards, Edwards, 479; Tyler, Tyler, I, 259 ff. ; Calhoun, Correspon- 
dence, II., 230-1, 249; Nile's Register, XXIII., 203-8, XXVIII., 355- 

73 In a letter to Henry Clay written after the election Edwards con- 
tends that Cook's defeat was due to his overconfidence. Washburne, 
Edwards, 261. 



UAI.SIS OF Till; ILLINOIS WHIGS 33 

caps: his vote for Adams/' his Long official service, an<l his 

relationship to Edwards, [f the returns of the congressional 

elections for the years L824 and L826 be compared, it will be 
m n thai the defection from Cook in the latter year was general 

throughout the state. A county here and there gave him a 

larger percent, of its entire vote than it had in 1824, DU1 this 
increase was more than offset by sharp decreases in other 
counties. In most of the counties, however, the decrease was 
small and strikingly uniform, a condition that seems to indicate 
that his vote for Adams was unpopular among certain classes all 
over the state. A similar defection is shown by comparing the 
congressional election returns with those for governor. Cook 
uniformly ran behind Edwards, except in those counties where 
his personal popularity was very great, or where his vote for 
Adams was approved. 

Events during the next two years caused a radical shifting 
of party alignments. Edwards' attack on the president and 
directors of the Bank at Edwardsville aroused his old political 
enemies and made many new ones. 7 "' After Crawford's chances 
for the presidency were seen to have been lost, Thomas was 
inclined to support Adams and Cook, and he is said to have 
desired to be friendly with Edwards. 70 McLean wavered in his 
opposition to Edwards, 77 while Kane, who had been elected to 
the United States Senate in 1825, ceased almost entirely to take 
an interest in state affairs. The leadership of the anti-Edwards 
party then passed into the hands of William Kinney and T. W. 
Smith. 78 

"Cook had married a daughter of Edwards. In a great many quar- 
ters dissatisfaction had arisen because two members of the same family 
were continually in office. Cook's opponents took up the cry "let us have 
rotation in office."' and it cannot be denied that such a slogan had its 
effect on the election. YVashburne. Edwards, 501. There was a certain 
discredit given to Cook's vote for Adams, and the charge against him 
was not dissimilar to that against Adams and Clay. Early in 1824 it was 
charged that Edwards' appointment as minister to Mexico was the result 
of a bargain whereby Cook was to support the choice of the Monroe 
administration for president. See D. P. Cook to H. Eddy. April 24. 
1824. (Eddy MSS.) 

"Ford, History of Illinois, 65 ff. ; Washburne, Edwards, 270, passim. 

''Edwardsville Spectator, September 15, 1826. 

"YVa>hburne, E.dwards. 355, passim. 

\\ contemporary politician divides the politicians into yet smaller 
groups as follows: 1. Smith, Kinney and West. 2. John and Thomas 



34 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [34 

As a result of the shifting of political lines in local affairs, 
new alignments in national politics were likewise necessary. 
Some of the Clay and Calhoun leaders went over for the time 
being to Adams, 79 but it is certain that a majority of them 
adhered to Jackson after Adams' election in 1825. The Craw- 
ford element went over to Jackson. 80 By 1827 two factions 
appeared in the Adams ranks. One group supported Adams 
and Edwards; the other supported Adams but opposed 
Edwards. 81 There was dissatisfaction in some quarters with the 
administration because of Adams' disinclination to build up a 
political machine by removing his enemies from office and 
appointing his friends, 82 yet the Adams cause was injured much 
more by the feeling that the president held his office as the 
result of intrigue, and that he was out of sympathy with western 
ideals. As }^et, however, many of the men that were to take the 
lead as Jackson men, and later as Democrats, were followers of 
Adams. 83 Edwards and his friends opposed Duncan's re-elec- 
tion in August, 1828, supporting George Forquer for the place. 84 
Forquer was an adherent of the national administration, and 
while this fact seems to have been very generally known, his 
friends made every attempt to keep the issues of the election lo- 
cal. Duncan's supporters pretended to do the same, but it is 
well known that Jacksonianism became an issue before the close 
of the campaign. Under such circumstances there could be but 
one outcome : Duncan was re-elected, and the results in Illinois 
of the presidential campaign of a few months later were accu- 
rately forecasted. 

Reynolds. 3. Jesse B. Thomas. 4. John McLean. 5. Edwards & Co. 
See Sloo Correspondence, 81-2. The last four groups were combined 
against the first in a great many cases. 

"See Edwardsville Spectator, September 15, 1825; Illinois Intelli- 
gencer, July 10, 1830. 

M W. Orr to H. Eddy, February 21, 1827, (Eddy MSS.) ; Illinois 
Intelligencer, May 8, 1830. In a communication to Edwards written in 
1827, J. M. Street states that the Crawford men in Gallatin County were 
very generally supporting the national administration. See Washburne, 
Edwards, 285. 

81 G. Forquer to H. Eddy, December 15, 1827. (Eddy MSS.) 

82 Washburne, Edwards, 263. 

^E.g. Thomas Ford, George Forquer, Sidney Breese. 

S4 N. Edwards (Communication), August election, 1828. (Eddy 
MSS.) Washburne, Edwards, 343, passim. 



<.i.\r.sis OF THE ILLINOIS WHIGS 35 

Jackson ^8 majority in L828, of almost liw thousand out of 

a total vote of Less than fifteen thousand indicated a temporary 

union of the two factions of the -Jackson party. 88 "Milk and 
cider"' JacksOS men were no less desirous than their more 
radical neighbors to elect .Jackson. The Genera] Assembly was 
made up largely of Jackson men, the "whole hog" element pre- 
dominating; while from the northern counties came several 
Adams supporters. The latter were apparently in sympathy 
With Edwards and Ins policies. They united at the request of 
Edwards, however, in electing John McLean to the United 
States Senate 84 by a unanimous vote. McLean succeeded 
Thomas, who at the time was on the eve of leaving the Jackson 
party. 

The lines for and against Jackson had not been so tightly 
drawn that they could not be crossed with ease. After the 
election of 1828, Edwards was advised by his brother-in-law, 
Duff Green, to prove to Jackson that he was his friend, and 
there are reasons for believing that Edwards followed the advice 
and made overtures in that direction. 87 Because of unsettled 
political conditions, those federal office holders in the state who 
were friendly to the outgoing administration in 1829, made an 
effort to hold their places by moving toward the Jackson ranks 
without actually joining them. To such a movement the Jackson 
administration refused to become a party ; and a direct demand 
was made that the Jackson party in Illinois should not join in 
any way with the "coalition." 88 Such a proposal merely in- 
dicates the chaotic condition of national politics, and the refusal 
of the administration to join with the old friends of Adams 

"The vote for president was distributed between the candidates as 
follows : Jackson, 9582 ; Adams, 4662. 

MSS. Election Returns (Secretary of State's Office, Springfield, Illi- 
nois). 

"Light is thrown on Edwards' attitude toward McLean's candidacy 
in his letters to McLean. See Washburne, Edzcards, 343 ft. 

""Relax not in your efforts. Prove that your support of the Presi- 
dent is sincere. Write to him in confidence, and all that has transpired 
will tend to increase instead of diminish your future influence." D. Green 
to X. Edwards, August 19. 1829. Washburne, Edwards. 429. Again Green 
writes, "If the new friends of the President have been more successful 
it is because they have sustained themselves and made a stronger case." 
Ibid. 447- 

M S. D. Ingham to S. H. Kimmell. August 1, 1829. (Eddy MSS.) 



36 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [36 

clarified the situation. It did more than that; it drew a line 
between the two factions of the Jackson party, and thenceforth 
"whole hog" and "milk and cider" were terms with a definite 
meaning. 

The next gubernatorial campaign was begun more than 
twelve months before the election in August, 1830. The candi- 
dates were William Kinney and John Reynolds. The former 
was an out and out Jackson man of the "whole hog" variety, 
and every effort was made by him and his friends to keep the 
question of Jacksonianism to the front. 89 Edwards favored 
Reynolds, despite a serious misunderstanding that had arisen 
between them during the Winnebago scare in 1828. 90 Reynolds 
has said since that he was a "milk and cider" Jackson man, 91 
and his correspondence would indicate that he was, yet he made 
an appeal for the support of the anti-Jackson party. 92 Kinney 
was charged with opposing a canal, 93 with a desire to turn every 
body out of office, 94 and with being the tool of Senator Benton. 95 
Reynolds w T ith all his* faults was a better politician than his 
opponent; he secured a large vote from the Adams counties 
without alienating from him enough Jackson votes to cause his 
own defeat. 90 Such a procedure was called "playing for all 

89 Washburne, Edwards, 432. 

°°N. Edwards to Editors, Illinois Intelligencer. July 22, 1830. N. Ed- 
wards to A. F. Grant, September 17, 1832. (Eddy MSS.) 

91 Reynolds was nominated at a Jackson meeting in Union County, 
October 9, 1829. See Illinois Intelligencer, October 31, 1829. 

92 Washburne, Edwards, 433; J. Reynolds to S. H. Kimmell, Decem- 
ber 10, 1829; S. H. Kimmell to A. F. Grant, October 29, 1829. (Eddy 
MSS.) 

93 Washburne, Edwards, 470. 

M D. Prickett to A. F. Grant, July i, 1830. (Eddy MSS.) 

^Western Democrat, December 2, 1829; Missouri Republican, Jan- 
uary 5, 1830. 

9C Reynolds was said to have been elected by friends of the American 
System. See Cincinnati American, December 27, 1830. By some papers 
the election of Reynolds was taken as defeat for the Jackson party in 
Illinois. See Ibid. August 23. 1830; Louisville Advertiser, August 11, 
1830. 

There must necessarily remain considerable speculation as to the 
real issues in the campaign. A claim was made after the election that 
Kinney had been defeated because of his endorsement of Jackson's pro- 
scription policy. See Kaskaskia Democrat, August 18, 1830. This was 
denied. Friends of Reynolds urged his claims on the ground that he 



37 | OF THE Illinois WHIGS 37 

the pockets," 91 and Reynolds w;is an adept al the game. Rey- 
nold's strength was principally in the extreme southern, 
northern, and western parts of the state, and in the enmities of 
Sangamon, Morgan and Maoon. M At the same election Duncan 

defeated Sidney Rreese and Edward Coles for Congress. 

Although the ultra-Jackson men lost the governship, they 
returned a large majority to the Genera] Assembly. Senator 
McLean having died October 14, 1 s:50, Governor Edwards ap- 
pointed David J. Baker of Kaskaskia as his successor for the 

time being. The General Assembly refused to eleet Edwards' 
choice, selecting in his stead John M. Robinson of White County, 
who was known to be an ultra Jackson man. Robinson was 
opposed by Thomas Mather, a well-known anti-conventionist 
of a few years before, a friend of Edwards, and later a leading 
Whig. At the same session Kane was re-elected to the senate 
for the term beginning March 4, 1831. There was certainly an 
Edwards party at this time," and in the gubernatorial campaign 
of 1830 its opponents repeatedly went out of their way to assail 
Edwards instead of Reynolds. 100 The former w r as recognized as 
the force behind Reynold's candidacy. Thus the anti-Edwards 
members of the General Assembly showed their hostility to 
Edwards by selecting two of Edwards' ablest opponents for the 
United States Senate. 

On January 3, 1831, the General Assembly nominated 
Jackson for re-election by a large majority. 101 But nine votes 
were cast against the nominating resolution, three in the senate 
and six in the house. Although the opposition to the nomination 
was weak numerically, it stubbornly resisted the passage of the 

was a "zealous advocate of the measures of the present administration, 
and of State Rights." See The Crisis, September 9, 1830. The report 
was widely circulated that the charge against Reynolds that he was 
friendly to Clay gave him the support of the anti-Jackson party, and hence 
elected him. See Illinois Intelligencer, September 4, 1830; Cincinnati 
American, September 20, 1830. Others would have it that Reynolds was 
elected because he favored the appropriation of money by Congress for 
internal improvements. See Scioto Gazette, September 22, 1830. 

T \\ Pope to H. Eddy, September 23, 1834. (Eddy MSS.) 

m MSS. Election Returns (Secretary of State's Office, Springfield, Illi- 
nois). 

"Illinois Intelligencer, July 24, 1830; YVashburne. Edwards, 513. 

"Washburne, Edwards, 461. 

"^For the resolutions see Senate Journal, 1830-1, p. 170 ff. 



38 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [38 

resolution and in the end the dissenting members of the house 
recorded their protest upon their Journal. 10 - Nor was the 
opposition to the nomination sectional, for the nine members 
voting in the negative represented seven widely separated coun- 
ties, namely, Pike in the north, Madison and Greene in the west, 
Randolph and Gallatin in the south, and Wabash and Clark in 
the east. 

The presidential campaign of 1832 caused a further shifting 
of political lines. The contest in 1831 and 1832 between Martin 
Van Buren and Richard M. Johnson for the nomination for vice- 
president on the Jackson ticket, is significant politically, for with 
Van Buren 's selection in 1832, begins a split in the Jackson 
ranks that assumed large proportions in 1836, when Van Buren 
became the recognized choice of his chief for the presidency. 
Extremely radical Jackson men, such as A. P. Field, John De- 
ment, Zadok Casey and Joseph Duncan, supported Johnson, 
while Van Buren 's interests were in the hands of W. L. D. 
Ewing, Samuel McRoberts and other "whole hog" Jacksonites. 
This division of opinion was carried to the National Convention 
at Baltimore, where the Illinois delegation divided its vote 
between Van Buren and Johnson. Upon the nomination of the 
former, however, a great majority of the friends and sup- 
porters of Johnson gracefully accepted defeat and unquali- 
fiedly supported the regularly nominated ticket: Jackson for 
president, Van Buren for vice-president. 103 Clay's candidacy 
received on the whole the regular anti- Jackson party strength. 104 
There was an increase in the total number of votes cast in the 
presidential election of 1832 over the election of 1828, but this 
increase barely kept pace with the increase in population, and the 
distribution of the increased vote affected Jackson's relative 
strength in the state only a little more than one per cent. This 

1<E For protest see House Journal, 1830-1, p. 232 ff. 

103 Field, for instance, voted, for Jackson and Van Buren. See MSS. 
Election Returns. (Court House, Vandalia.) 

1<M For accounts of Clay meetings see Sangamo Journal, August 2, 
18, September 1, 8, 15, 22, 1832. There seem to have been no delegates 
from Illinois to the National-Republican Convention of 1831. See 
Niles Register, XLL, 301-7; Cincinnati American, December 23, 1830. 

Despite Edwards' and Cook's support of Clay's American Policy in 
the twenties, Edwards refused to support Clay in 1832. He expressed 
a preference for McLean or Wirt. See Benton, View, I., 32; A s Cowles 
to J. Marshall, August 25, 1835. (Eddy MSS.) 



89] morons on the ellinou whigs 39 

lack of relative change in the position of the two parties seema 

to indicate one of two conditions: cither there was a marked 
stability in the relative strength of the two parties, or the immi- 
gration into the northern counties offset the defection in the 
southern counties from the Adams-Clay forces. 

Between 1832 and 1834 events moved rapidly. Jackson's 
hostile attitude toward the United States Hank, his insistence on 
Vim Hnren as his successor, and the extravagances of his ad- 
visers in demanding support for the president drove many of 
his old supporters into the ranks of the opposition. On the 
other hand, there were accessions to the Jackson ranks from the 
Adams-Clay elements. After repeated attempts to get office as 
opponents of Jackson, or at least as luke-warm supporters, more 
than one ambitious politician took up Jacksonianism in the 
most extreme form. On account of Jackson's popularity it 
became dangerous except in limited areas to denounce his poli- 
cies. Men with ambition for office preferred to tolerate the 
Jackson administration, — kitchen cabinet and all, — rather than 
to risk their political success by speaking their mind. 

During these two years the political alignments in Illinois 
underwent radical changes. The position occupied by the "milk 
ami cider" Jackson element was not only illogical but untenable, 
and its ability to maintain itself as an organization depended 
entirely upon its coalition with the anti-Jackson forces. Its 
midway position between the radical Jackson faction on the one 
hand, and the anti-Jackson party on the other, made it a con- 
venient and fruitful recruiting ground for the other factions and 
parties. The election of Jackson for a second term, which was a 
complete vindication for the affront offered him in 1825, served 
to cool the ardor of the more extreme supporters of the presi- 
dent, and bring them into more complete harmony with the 
members of the moderate Jackson faction. The intrusion of 
Van Burenism into national politics, and the dogmatic distri- 
bution of federal offices in the state by the administration, tended 
to force the luke-warm supporters of Jackson into the ranks of 
the opposition. During the period state issues grew in import- 
ance. The question of state banks and internal improvements 
engrossed the minds of the people to the exclusion of personal 
and national issues, and the scramble of party leaders to antici- 
pate public opinion on these local issues, resulted in new and 
• ange political alliances. 



40 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [40 

Other political forces were at work to change the old order 
of things. Before 1834, Edwards, Bond, Cook, and McLean were 
dead; Thomas, Phillips, and Sloo had removed from the state; 
Browne, Pope, and Smith were on the bench; and their places 
were filled partially by their lieutenants, partially by a younger 
and newer element that had little interest in keeping alive the 
factional disputes of an earlier period. A factor in causing a 
change was the constant shifting of the center of population 
northward. In time the representation of the southern counties, 
where the early struggles had been carried on, decreased; and 
with this decrease of relative strength in those sections and a 
corresponding increase in the northern counties where the newer 
elements were to be found, came a change in the nature of the 
politics of the state. With improved means of communication, 
diffusion of knowledge through the agency of schools, colleges, 
churches, and newspapers, a higher standard of living resulting 
from increased trade and diversity of labor, came a corresponding 
change in the political activities and ideals of the people. 

These changes, however, caused new problems to arise. With 
the settlement of the northern counties there appeared a certain 
form of sectionalism based not so much upon a difference in birth 
and economic activities, as upon a lack of understanding be- 
tween the sections. Prejudices were appealed to in both sections 
by unscrupulous leaders. The older settlers in the south were 
inclined to regard all the people of the northern counties as 
Yankees, and what they knew about Yankees was based generally 
upon what they had heard from the lips of political speakers. 
The northerners on their part, were prone to regard those in the 
southern sections as uncouth, illiterate, and lazy. 

Despite the death of so many of the leaders of the struggles 
during the twenties, the changes due to economic and social 
causes, the shifting of the center of population northward, and 
the acute sectionalism that occurred, there is a marked con- 
tinuity of political lines from the days of the territory down to 
and through the period when the Whig party contested with the 
Democrats for political supremacy. The anti-conventionists 
were on the whole made up of the Edwards faction plus the 
new comers in the northern counties, while their opponents in the 
slavery struggle were led at least by the leaders of the anti- 
Edwards faction. The bulk of the former supported Adams; 
of the latter, Crawford. After the elections of 1824, there ap- 
peared three distinct elements. One opposed Jackson's preten- 



41 | \i;sis or THE Illinois WHJG8 11 

sions for the presidency; a second favored Jackson, but was 
unwilling to go to the Length to which Jackson's managers de- 
sired; the third manifested a willingness to go to any extreme 

for Jackson. To tlie first element belonged very distinctly the 
ii.w settlers in the northern counties, and many from the; ranks 
o^i the Edwards faction; the second consisted of men possessing 
unsettled political convictions, made up in large part of mem- 
bers o\' the Edwards party; the ultra Jackson clement coincided 
roughly with the old convention party. In time the position of the 
moderate Jackson element became untenable, and it was broken 
up, a part going: into the ranks of the National Republican party, 
another part joining itself to the more ultra Jackson wing. This 
transition affected politics materially. The coalescing of the 
Jackson wings tended to render the ultras more moderate, while 
Jackson men who went into the opposition ranks became 
radical anti-Jackson men. 

Thus, beginning w r ith the opposition to Van Buren in 1831, 
the an ti- Jackson party received a constant stream of recruits 
from the Jacksonian ranks. Some of them were friends of the 
United States Bank, others were disappointed office seekers, and 
still others were radical opponents of Van Buren. 



CHAPTER II. 

The Emergence of the Whig Party. 
1834-1839. 

The fourth decade of the nineteenth century marks a turning 
point in the economic, social, and political life of the people of 
Illinois. During these ten years an enormous public debt was 
saddled upon the state in an unsuccessful attempt to create a vast 
system of internal improvements ; the increase in population was 
three fold, made up in great part of immigrants from New 
England and New York, who brought in ideals of life differing 
somewhat from those which guided a majority of the older set- 
tlers; and, what is not 'less important, there gradually emerged 
from the clashing factions two distinct political parties that con- 
tinued to divide the people for twenty years. 

Coincident with this emergence came a state wide demand for 
internal improvements and state banks; and the unanimity of 
this demand partially hid political cleavages, and retarded for a 
time unqualified adherence on the part of individuals to one or 
the other political party. The people, in common with those in 
the older settled sections of the East and South, were vitally 
interested in national issues, but their struggle for economic 
and social freedom demanded and received the major share of 
their attention. Sectional differences, which were held in check 
during the boom days of the middle thirties, broke out later with 
increased fury when attempts were made to place responsibility 
for the failure of the banking and internal improvements schemes. 

The Whig party solidified much more slowly than did its 
great rival. The various anti-administration elements that com- 
bined rather loosely during the first few years after the term 
"Whig" became a party appellation, had but one thing in com- 
mon, — opposition to Van Buren. They differed over the tariff, 
the United States Bank, and national aid for internal improve- 
ments. One faction was enthusiastic for Clay, another opposed 
him with great determination, while yet another faction looked to 
Adams or Webster for political guidance. Fortunately for the 

42 



|:; tin: EMERGENCE OF THE WHIG PARTI 1:5 

WhigS during these years, their opponents, who were in the 
majority, did not always agree among themselves; and by taking 

advantage of the divisions arising from these disagreements, the 

Whigs were able many times to guide legislation and give moral 
support to the party in the nation. 

Throughout the years IS:}:} and 1 S:{4, Illinois politics were in 
a chaotic condition, due in part to disorganization among the anti- 
•lackson men, in part to the rapid disintegration of the "milk and 
cider" Jackson faction, and in part to mutual jealousies among 
the ultra-Jackson leaders. Jackson's veto of the bank bill, his 
order to withdraw the deposits, his opposition to federal aid for 
internal improvements, and his efforts to name Van Buren as his 
successor to the presidency caused a considerable defection from 
the Democratic ranks. These rapid and many sided transitions 
threw together voters that were but lately bitter political an- 
tagonists, and as was to be expected, there was a lack of mutual 
confidence and happy co-operation among them. Moreover, there 
were many minor differences that kept these heterogeneous ele- 
ments from coalescing completely, while the principal, if not the 
only force, binding them together was a sort of common but ill- 
defined opposition to the national administration in general and 
to Van Buren in particular. There were to be found enrolled in 
the ranks of those opposed to the national administration, former 
ultra -Jackson men who had failed to secure what they con- 
sidered adequate recognition in the distribution of offices, others 
who refused to support Van Buren, claiming that their allegiance 
to Jackson had ceased with his re-election in 1832, yet others who 
had become disgusted with the abuses and excesses of Jack- 
son's advisers, and finally that large element which had been in 
opposition since the days of the presidential struggle of 1824 and 
1825. Because of the personnel of the opposition, no one could 
estimate with any degree of certainty the strength of either the 
Jackson or the anti-Jackson party, and the leaders of the latter 
party moved cautiously and slowly, awaiting some test whereby 
the strength of their following might be ascertained. 

During this period of political unrest occurred the guberna- 
torial campaign and election of 1834. For more than a year 
before the election, candidates for governor were being groomed 
by many newspapers and localities, each endeavoring to convince 
the others that its choice was the logical one. There w r as, how- 
ever, a widespread demand that General James D. Henry offer 



44 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [44 

himself for the office, 1 but because of ill health resulting from 
exposure in Indian warfare, he declined the honor. After con- 
siderable manouvering on the part of prospective candidates and 
their respective friends, the field narrowed to four contestants: 
William Kinney of St. Clair County, Robert K. McLaughlin of 
Fayette, Joseph Duncan of Morgan, and James Adams of 
Sangamon. 

Mr. Kinney was widely known throughout the state, having 
been lieutenant governor during the Edwards administration 
from 1826 to 1830, and an unsuccessful candidate for governor 
against John Reynolds in 1830. Early in 1834, Kinney was 
chosen as a candidate for governor in a convention held at 
Belleville, and immediately afterward he issued a long address 
"To the Independent Voters of the State of Illinois." 2 A few 
months later McLaughlin, familiarly known as "Uncle Mac," 
was named by a convention held at Vandalia. 3 While McLaugh- 
lin was not so well known to the people as was Kinney, he was 
no stranger, for besides being state treasurer from 1819 to 1823 
he had been prominent as a citizen of the state capital and a 
member of the General Asembly, and his relation to Duncan 
and Governor Bond added to his prestige. Duncan, who had 
been continuously in the National House of Representatives 
since 1827, was the choice of newspapers and politicians located 
in every part of the state, and from the very beginning of his 
active candidacy in 1833, his chances of success appeared to be 
better than those of his opponents. Little is known of Adams. 
He was a candidate for office both before and after this time and 
appears to have been uniformly unsuccessful. Of the four can- 
didates, Kinney and McLaughlin were "whole hog" Jackson 
men, Duncan an "unreliable" Jackson man, and Adams an 
ultra anti-Jackson man. 4 

So far as the supporters of Kinney and McLaughlin were 
concerned, the term "unreliable" fitted Duncan's political 
affiliations exactly. They were thoroughly convinced that he was 
not a supporter of the national administration, even though he 
had been repeatedly elected to Congress as a Jackson man. At 

1 Alton Spectator, March 1 8, 1834. 

2 Alt on American, January 17, 1834. 
3 Ibid., May 12, 1834. 

^Chicago Democrat, July 23, 1834; see also Alton Spectator, May 8, 
1834. 



15 Tin. I'mi i:<.i..\( i; OF THE w iih; iwicty 15 

the beginning of his cat-en- in national affairs in L827, Duncan 

was undeniably a radical .Jackson man at Washington, and a 
loyal member of the "whole hog" Jackson faction in Illinois; 
but even as early as 1831, rumors of Ins defection from the party 
Were rife; and by L833 it was well known in many quartern that 
he was completely out of harmony witli the administration, and 
especially with the president's unofficial advisers. This opposi- 
tion to the administration is the crux of the entire controversy 
about Duncan's alleged defection from the Democratic party. 
The truth about the matter is that he never considered for a 
moment that he had changed his political position in the least, 
but rather did he consider that Van Buren and others had 
influenced Jackson to take a course contrary to that which he 
had entered upon at the beginning of his presidential career in 
1829. Duncan had no quarrel with Jackson the man, and very 
little if any with Jackson the president; for the men around the 
president lie had a mixed feeling of suspicion and contempt. 
True, Jackson had vetoed the bank bill, and had ordered the 
withdrawal of the deposits, but in either case Duncan was willing 
to believe that the responsibility for his act rested morally upon 
the president's official and unofficial advisers and not upon the 
president himself. Duncan's hostile attitude was very generally 
known in the better informed communities of the state, and in a 
surprisingly large number of cases it was endorsed by ultra 
Jackson men. 5 Throughout the campaign Duncan remained in 
the East, sending from time to time, letters and addresses to the 
newspapers favorable to his candidacy, 6 thus depending not upon 
a personal appeal to the voters but rather upon his congressional 
record and personal popularity. 7 



5 Just how well Duncan's attitude was understood must necessarily 
remain conjectural. Different newspapers and localities regarded it dif- 
ferently. The generalization made here is based upon the following 
sources: Vandalia Whig and Illinois Intelligencer, April 3, 1834; Sangamo 
Journal, October 4, December 6, 1834; The Western Hemisphere, August 
27, October I, 1834; Alton Spectator, May 8, 1834; Chicago Democrat, 
July 23, August 27, 1834; Chicago American, July 23, 1834; A. F. Grant 
to J. Dement, June 26, 1833; J. Reynolds to A. F. Grant, February 17, 
1834. (Eddy MSS.) 

* Alton Spectator, March 4, 1834; Chicago American, July 23, 1834. 

7 See Chicago American, July 23, 1834; Chicago Democrat, September 
17, 1834. 



46 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [46 

Duncan was elected by a substantial majority, being sup- 
ported very generally by the anti-Jackson party, which gave 
surprisingly slender support to Adams; by the remnant of the 
"milk and cider" Jackson faction, most of whom were out of 
sympathy with Kinney and McLaughlin; and finally by a large 
number of the rank and file of the ultra Jackson faction, some 
because they had voted for Duncan for years and thus acquired 
the habit, others because of his clean public and brilliant military 
record, yet others because they did not know or did not believe 
the stories about his hostility toward the Jackson administration. 8 
The governor-elect carried, by a majority vote, all the counties 
north and east of the mouth of the Illinois River, — Macoupin, 
Sangamon, Montgomerj', Coles and Shelby excepted, — the 
counties of Lawrence, Wabash, Edwards, White and Gallatin in 
the southeast, Alexander and Pope in the extreme southern part 
of the state, and Madison and Jackson in the southwest. In 
addition he carried by a plurality vote, Crawford, St. Clair, 
Coles and Sangamon counties. Although the Kinney strength 
was confined to southern Illinois, it was less sectional than that 
given Adams or McLaughlin. Adams' strength lay almost 
entirely within the counties of Sangamon and Tazewell, neither 
of which was he able to carry; McLaughlin's support was con- 
fined on the whole to Fayette and adjoining counties, and to the 
territory west of the Illinois River. 9 Duncan's strength in such 

8 This generalization is based upon a careful study of election returns 
from typical counties, upon private correspondence of public men, and 
upon newspaper accounts. See MSS. Election Returns in Coles, Sanga- 
mon, Edwards, Macoupin, Fayette counties, Eddy MSS.; and the follow- 
ing newspapers for the years 1833 and 1834: Alton Spectator, Alton. 
American, Chicago Democrat, Chicago American, Vandalia Whig and 
Illinois Intelligencer, Illinois Advocate, and State Register. 

9 The political nature of the McLaughlin support is not entirely clear. 
In Springfield the nine McLaughlin votes were divided among the other 
candidates as follows : For Congressman — Alills, 6 ; May, 3 ; for Lieuten- 
ant-governor — Archer, 6; Jenkins, 2; Evans, 1. MSS. Election Returns, 
Springfield (Court House). (Note: Speaking generally, May, Jenkins, 
and Evans were Democrats, and Archer and Mills were Whigs.) The 
same general distribution of McLaughlin votes occurred in Macoupin and 
other counties. See MSS. Election Returns in respective counties. 

The confusion of this election is further illustrated by an examina- 
tion of the votes of several men then prominent politically : S. Francis, 
editor of Sangamo Journal, voted for McLaughlin, Archer, and Mills; 



47 I TBI BMBRG3 HOT Of THE WHIG PARTY 1< 

anti-Jackson counties as Sangamon, Fdwanls, ( loirs, Morgan ;in«l 
Vermilion, indicates that the ant i. Jackson people believed 
that Duncan was iu sympathy with their cause. In the tight of 
this election and Duncan's subsequent actions and utterances, 
one can say with a reasonable degree of assurance that. Duncan 
was a Whig in principle at the time of bis election as governor 
in August, 1834. 10 

The Jackson-Van Buren forces, however, were very generally 
successful in the election of 1S:}4. Besides the lieutenant-gov- 
ernor and the entire congressional delegation, they elected a 
majority of the members of the General Assembly. Such results 
indicate conclusively that Illinois was still loyal to the president 
in spite of his insistence that Van Buren should be his successor, 
and of his hostile attitude toward federal aid for internal 
improvements and toward the United States Bank. 11 

The Ninth General Assembly, which convened for its first 
session December 1, 1834, was composed of eighty -one members, 
of which number ten senators and eighteen representatives were 
unmistakably anti-Jackson men. 12 The retiring executive was a 

Job Fletcher, for Duncan, Archer, and Mills; A. G. Herndon, for Kinney, 
Evans, and May; Peter Cartwright, for Adams, Jenkins and May; N. 
W. Edwards, for Duncan, Jenkins, and Mills; Bowling Green, for Kin- 
ney, Archer, and Mills. All the votes except that of Bowling Green may 
be found in Sangamon County Court House; that of Green in State 
Historical Library. 

10 It has seemed to the writer for some little time that Duncan ought to be 
classed in the Illinois Blue Book and other public documents as a Whig. 
Criticism of classification may be carried still further. It is the custom 
to class all the early state officers as Democrats in spite of the fact that 
many of them supported Adams in 1828 and Clay in 1832. The use of 
terminology has been abused in places where one would expect better 
scholarship to prevail. Thus newspapers have been called Whig as early 
as 1828 when the idea intended to be conveyed was that they were anti- 
Jackson. 

"William P>. Archer, candidate for lieutenant-governor, came out 
squarely on a platform favoring the United States Bank, and the 8573 
votes polled for him represent perhaps the approximate strength of the 
Whigs in Illinois at that time. MSS. Election Returns, (Secretary of 
State's Office. Springfield, Illinois) ; Sangamo Journal, August 2, 1834. 

^'First session: Senate — 9 Whigs, 1 anti-bank Whig, 14 Pemocrats, 
2 anti-Van Buren Democrats; House — 14 Whigs, 4 anti-bank Whigs, 35 
Democrats, 1 anti-Van Buren Democrat, 1 Bank Democrat. Second Ses- 
sion : Senate — 9 Whigs, 1 Anti-Bank Whig, 13 Democrats, 3 anti-Van 



48 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [48 

Jackson adherent, less radical in his support of the president 
than were many of his colleagues but a true out and out Jackson 
man. He took the opportunity in what was his first as well as 
his last message to the General Assembly to denounce the United 
States Bank in no uncertain terms. He declared "That it has 
produced all the real and unreal disasters complained of in the 
commercial community — that it has interfered in the political 
elections of our country — corrupted the public press, and pros- 
trated its legitimate purposes — thrown the gauntlets of defiance 
at the people of the nation — insulted them in the person of their 
venerable Chief Magistrate — perpetrated acts of bold and daring 
usurpation — violated the provisions of its charter — . . . That 
the exasperated managers of this institution are the authors of 
all the partizan strife and excitement which now convulse the 
country — . . . " 13 

Governor Duncan's attitude toward national affairs was 
much less radical than that which Ewing had taken. Without 
expressing any opinion whatever on the merits of the controversy 
between the United States Bank and the president, the governor- 
elect contented himself with merely analysing the functions of 
banking. For the president 's disapproval of the bill for improv- 
ing the Wabash River, Duncan had no words of censure. He 
believed that Jackson's opinions had been hastily formed, and 
that upon a more mature deliberation he would sign such a bill 
if the opportunity should offer. 14 These references to national 
affairs by both governors are of the greatest political importance. 
While Duncan's utterances are rather colorless, those of Ewing 
reflected exactly the feeling of the party that was supporting 
Jackson and Van Buren. Besides, discussions of these utter- 
ances gave the General Asembly an opportunity to go on record 
for or against the national administration, and this record is the 
principal basis upon which a determination of political affilia- 
tions of this period must be made. 

Buren Democrats ; House — 13 Whigs, 4 anti-bank Whigs, 36 Democrats, 
1 anti-Van Buren Democrat, 1 Bank Democrat. 

Note. It is impossible to give references to show the political affilia- 
tion of each member of this or other General Assemblies. To determine 
this point, newspapers, local histories, election returns, votes in the Gen- 
eral Assembly on political issues have been used. See Appendix. 

ls Senate Journal, 1834-5, P- 13 ; House Journal, 1834-5, p. 14. 

14 Duncan's message to General Assembly is found in Senate Journal, 
i834-5> P- 21 ft. ; House Journal, 1834-5, P- 25 ff. 



49] Tin: i-:.\n OP TBI \vin<; PARTI 49 

A striking politic*] characteristic of the early days of this 

m of the General Assembly, was the litter impossibility on 
the part of the Leaders to determine the exact political affiliation 

of many of their colleagues. It is well known now that a ma- 
jority in each house favored the national administration, yet on 
many of the most important legislative committees this majority 
had but a minority representation. 1 •"• Among the rank and file 
of the Assembly there was considerable uncertainty as to whom 
they should support for the United States Senate. Mr. Archer, 
who two years before had opposed resolutions upholding Jackson 
in his struggle with nullification, was supported by a mere hand- 
ful of the more radical anti-Jackson men ; the less radical divided 
their votes between John M. Robinson and Richard M. Young, 
both supporters of Jackson. Lincoln supported the latter, and 
ten years later in a warning to his party not to divide its strength 
by supporting its less objectionable foes alluded with a consider- 
able feeling of regret to this support. 16 

Despite a failure of the minority in the General Assembly 
to unite on a candidate for the United States Senate, it was gen- 
erally a unit on political issues; in fact the introduction of 
political issues, particularly those concerning national affairs, 
had a tremendous influence in crystallizing parties. When the 
majority attempted to put through a resolution endorsing Jack- 
son's attitude toward the bank, the minority opposed its passage 
at every step. 17 Even after the resolution was passed a counter 
one was introduced and supported to a man by the anti- Jackson 
members. Although unsuccessful in their attempt to put the 
General Assembly on record as favoring the continuation of the 
United States Bank, the anti-Jackson forces in the house suc- 
ceeded in having passed a resolution which gave it as the opinion 
of that body that, "the establishment of a National Bank, with 
a branch in each state, by the consent or request of its Legisla- 
ture, properly restricted and guarded in its operations, is neces- 

l, E. g. Senate Committees: Finance-Snyder, Taylor (Dem.) ; Mather, 
Mills, Bond (Whig). Judiciary — Evving (Dem.) ; Edwards, Gatewood, 
Williams, Thomas (Whig). 

House Committees: Finance — Whiteside, Hackelton, Link (Dem.); 
Ross, Moore, Webb, Blackwell (Whig). 

^Senate Journal, 1834-5, p. 119; House Journal, 1834-5, p. 142 ff. ; 
Alton Telegraph, March 25, 1843. 

17 1 louse Journal, 1834-5, PP- 214-17, 258-63. For vote on similar reso- 
lution in the senate, see Senate Journal, 1834-5, P- 208 ff. 



50 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [50 

sary to establish a sound and uniform currency in the United 
States; and also to afford the necessary facilities to the General 
Government in transporting its funds." 18 While the friends of 
the national administration as a party were naturally hostile 
to any kind of a national bank, a sufficient number in the house 
recognized the necessities expressed in the resolution and voted 
for it. 

The two important state policies discussed and passed upon 
during this session were the creation of two banks, and provisions 
for securing money for a canal. 19 In neither case was the vote on 
political lines. Of the twenty-seven members of the minority 
voting on the bank bill, thirteen voted for and fourteen against 
it. The support of the canal was not less general, and many of 
the most enthusiastic friends of that measure were from the 
southern part of the state. 

On account of deaths and resignations the personnel of the 
second session of the ninth General Assembly, which convened 
December 7, 1835, was somewhat changed, but the ratio of the 
number of either party to the whole number of members remained 
practically the same. 20 On the third day of the session a resolu- 

18 House Journal, 1834-5, P- 356; Senate Journal, 1834-5, p. 315 ff. 

19 For notice of internal improvements see Senate Journal, 1834-5, 
p. 228 ff., 360 ff., 1835-6, p. 7 ; House Journal, 1834-5, P- 225 ff., 378 ff. 
(Note. — House proceedings for February 4, 5, and 6, and for parts of 
February 3 and 7, 1835, are not printed in the House Journal of 1834-5. 
They are bound in House Journal, 1835-6, pages 373-414), 1835-6, p. 8; 
Laws of Illinois, 1834-5, P- 222 , J835-6, p. 145 ff. ; Putnam, Economic His- 
tory of the Illinois-Michigan Canal, 274-5 5 Greene and Thompson, Gov- 
ernors' Letter-Books, II, lxii ff. ; Davidson and Stuve, History of Illinois, 
1673-1884, p. 478 ff. ; Chicago Democrat, March 25, 1835, January 20, 1836, 
passim.; Douglas, Autobiography (Journal 111. State Hist. Society), Octo- 
ber, 1912, p. 341. 

For a notice of state bank legislation see Laics of Illinois, 1834-5, 
p. 7 ff. ; Senate Journal, 1834-5, P- 360; House Journal, 1834-5. P- 512; 
Davidson and Stuve, History of Illinois, 416 ff. ; Knox, A History of 
Banking in the United States, 65; Greene and Thompson, Governors' 
Letter-Books, II, xii ; Annals of the West, 779 ff. ; Chicago Democrat, 
December 7, 1836; Dowrie, Development of Banking in Illinois, 59 ff. 

20 Changes in Second Session : Senate — Fletcher (W) vice Taylor 
(D) ; Herndon (anti-Van B.) vice Forquer (D) ; Parrish (D) vice Will 
(D) ; Servant (W) vice Mather (W) ; Strode (D) vice Stephenson (D) ; 
Weatherford (D) vice Jones (W). House— Blackford (D) vice Mc- 
Henry (D) ; Buckmaster (D) vice Thomas (D) ; Graig (D) vice Dough- 



Tin i mi:i;«.i \< i. CW nil". WHIG PARTS .~>1 

tion was introduced in the senate directing the United states 

senators from Illinois to use their influence in having expunged 

from the senate records the vote of censure against President 
Jackson for ordering the withdrawal of deposits from the United 
States Bank.* 1 In voting upon this resolution the WhigB did not 

hesitate to oppose Jackson and his bank policy; they voted in- 
effectually but solidly in the negative, not because of their great 
sympathy for the bank and the principles for which it stood, 
but rather to lessen .Jackson's influence in general, and to mini- 
mize the influence of his endorsement of Van Buren in par- 
tieulaiv- 

The most important political acts of this session were the 
seconding of presidential nominations, and the contest over party 
names. A senate resolution endorsing White for the presidency, 
and condemning the Van Buren party for assuming to deny to 
the Whi<rs the use of the name "Democracy" was introduced by 

erty (D); Pace (D) vice Anderson (D) ; Porter (D) vice McGahey 
(D); Smith (D) vice Ficklin (W) ; Turney (D) vice Link (D) ; Wood 
(D)riVt' Rowan (D). 

^For comment from western standpoint, see Western Hemisphere, 
May 21, 1834. 

—Senate Journal, 1835-6, p. 12, passim; House Journal, 1835-6, p. 
62 ff. The transmission of these resolutions to the senators from Illi- 
nois — Robinson and Kane — gave Governor Duncan the opportunity of 
putting himself on record against the administration. How well he 
improved this opportunity is shown by his letter of transmittal : "This 
contest between the president and the senate, as a party measure, to my 
mind, is assuming the most alarming aspect; the one possessing all 
power, the fount of all honor, the dispenser of all favor, holding the 
absolute power over the will of one hundred thousand dependents, whose 
patronage makes him the idol of all the ambitious hungry office seekers 
in the land ; the other having no benefits to bestow, no mercenary de- 
pendents wielding the press or the bludgeon in the defense, and required 
by the constitution to perform the odious duties of rejecting bad men 
from office, and resisting executive enroachment — in such a contest, un- 
less the people rally to the defense of the senate who can doubt that the 
result will be total prostration." For Duncan's entire letter, see A'ilcs' 
Register, L., 128; Alton Telegraph, March 9, 1836. It was during the 
debates over this resolution that the well known term "slasher gaff" 
originated. John S. Hacker, state senator from Alexander and Union 
counties, used the expression to indicate the extremes to which many of 
the followers of Jackson were willing to go in his support. See Alton 
Telegraph, December 14, 1836. 



52 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [52 

Mr. Davidson of White County. Its passage was by a bare 
majority, thirteen to twelve, all the Whigs voting in the affirma- 
tive. 23 The House, not to be outdone by the upper chamber, 
resolved that, "the false and arrogant claims of the Webster, 
White, and Harrison party, to the exclusive use of the ancient 
and honorable name of Whig was grossly unjust." The same 
resolution endorsed Van Buren 's candidacy for the presidency. 
Being in a hopeless minority in the house the Whigs resorted to 
underhand parliamentary tactics. Attempts to make the resolu- 
tion odious by saddling it with an amendment endorsing the con- 
vention system failed by a single vote. More drastic measures 
were then resorted to under the leadership of Webb and Lincoln ; 
amendments, and amendments to amendments, dealing with the 
franchise, negroes, and pre-emption were offered; unsuccessful 
attempts to adjourn were made; impossible divisions of the 
question were demanded; and appeals from the decision of the 
chair were taken to the house. But the resolutions were passed 
despite such tactics, every Whig present except one voting 
against them. 24 

In the appointment of directors for the State Bank of 
Illinois, and commissioners for the canal, party lines were rather 
strictly adhered to. Both banks had directorates almost unani- 
mously Whig. 25 On the first canal board the Whigs were in the 
majority, and upon the re-organization of this board following 
the supplementary canal act of 1836 all its members were Whig. 
Opposition to the confirmation of several of these Whig ap- 
pointees by Democratic members of the state senate, indicates 
that there was a feeling that the governor was partial to his 
political friends in making appointments. This, however, is but 
one instance of many, where the Whigs by the very force of 
enthusiasm and unity in the ranks and of ability in leadership, 
were able, although in the minority, to outvote their opponents 
by taking advantage of division in their ranks. This is well 
illustrated in the strenuous opposition in the house to the Van 
Buren resolutions already mentioned. It contrasts sharpty to the 
indifference and demoralization of the Democrats in the senate 
when the anti-Van Buren resolutions were carried in that body 

-'^Senate Journal, 1835-6, p. 76 ft. For protest against resolution, see 
Ibid.. 355 ff- 

24 House Journal, 1835-6, pp. 211-12, 233-40; Senate Journal, 1835-6, 
p. 175 ff. 

-'Reports of Committees (U. S.). 1836-37, III, 605 passim. 



THE i MERGENCE OF THE WHIG PARTY 58 

in the face of a Democratic majority of almost two to one. The 

explanation for such disorganization in the Democratic ranks 
between the years 1832 and 1886 is to he found in the opposition 
in that party to Van liuren. 

The endorsement of White's candidacy by the Illinois senate 
in 1885, made him the Logical candidate in that state of all the 
parties and factions opposed to the Van Huron candidacy. After 
the adjournment of the General Assembly, prominent anti-Van 
Buren men met at Springfield and formally nominated White 
for the presidency.- The same body appointed a committee to 
prepare an address to the voters of the state, and a little later 
Whig papers began to declare their adherence to the White cause 
by carrying at the head of their political columns the names of 
the five White electors, all of whom were anti-Van Buren Jackson 
men. Without a single notable exception all the Democratic 
papers of the state opposed White, declaring, as did many of the 
papers in Tennessee, that he had ceased to be an orthodox party 
man by his opposition to Jackson's choice for the presidency. 27 
For the sake of consistency the anti-Van Buren Democrats, who 
refused to come out openly as Whigs even after White had been 
read out of the party by the papers of his own state, declared 
that he was no less a Democrat and Jackson man than was Van 
Buren, and that their support of the Tennesseean against the 
' ' Little Wizard ' ' was in no manner an indication that they were 
not true and orthodox Democrats. 28 

For a year or more the campaign went on with the Van 
Buren Democrats opposed by a coalition of Whigs and White 
Democrats. 29 Murmurs of dissatisfaction arose after a time in 

' 26 Sangamo Journal, June 20, 1835. 

21 Nashville Union, May 17, September 15, 1836. 

28 A. G. Herndon in State Register, June 19, 1840. 

29 This opposition was called by the Democratic press, "piebald party." 
See State Register, October 14, 1836. The Sangamo Journal, mouthpiece 
of the Springfield "Junto," did not consider Harrison to be a candidate 
as late as May, 1836. "The attempt to cover up the political deformities 
of Van Buren with the cloak of General Jackson, is done with the sole 
and only purpose of taking advantage of the feelings of the old friends 
of General Jackson, who do not discover the trick played off on them. 
The contest is between Martin Van Buren, the northern candidate — and 
Hugh L. White, the Western candidate." Issue of May 1, 1836. Whigs 
looked with favor upon the split in the ranks of the Democratic party 
over Van Buren. It was expected that each faction would bid for the 



54 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [54 

the northwestern counties, which on the whole were Whig strong- 
holds. These murmurs were for a time stilled by taking the 
name of Bowling Green from the White electoral ticket, sub- 
stituting in its place that of A. G. S. Wight of Jo Daviess 
County. 80 Despite the good understanding among the various 
anti-Van Buren elements, there finally grew up a considerable 
Harrison sentiment among the Whigs that either refused to con- 
sider White as other than a Democrat, or failed to understand 
the significance of some sort of an agreement between their 
leaders on the one hand and those of the anti-Van Buren Demo- 
crats on the other. The culmination of this agitation for Harri- 
son 's candidacy was a Whig meeting held at Edwardsville in 
September, 1836. Not wishing "to distract the opposition to 
Van Buren" the meeting nominated "to the people of Illinois, 
the gentlemen named as electors of Judge White, relying upon 
them in the event of General Harrison receiving more votes in 
other states than Judge White, they will give the vote of this 
State to Harrison. ' ' 31 At least three of the White electors — Bond, 
White and Wight — agreed to this proposition, and thereafter 
the White electoral ticket became generally known as the ' ' Union 
anti-Van Buren Electoral Ticket." 32 Governor Duncan's paper, 
the Jacksonville Patriot, suggested that each voter for the union 

Whig vote. There seems to have been no widespread feeling in the 
ranks of the leaders that it would be advisable to support an out and out 
Whig candidate. See N. Pope to H. Eddy, February 16, 1835. (Eddy 
MSS.) 

30 Sangamo Journal, April 9, 16, 1836; Alton Telegraph, April 13, 20, 
1836. 

31 Alton Telegraph, September 7, 1836; State Register, September 2, 
IS, 1836. During the months of September and October, 1836, numerous 
Harrison meetings were held throughout the state and the White Electo- 
ral Ticket (now called Union Ticket) was endorsed. See Alton Tele- 
graph, October 12, 1836, passim. In the western part of the state south 
of the mouth of the Illinois River there was a strong Harrison sentiment 
in July and August. See Ibid., August 24 1836, passim. 

sz Sangamo Journal, October 1, 15, 1836; State Register, October 7, 
1836. There was little uniformity in ticket headings. The following 
forms appear in a single issue of one Whig paper: "Union Electoral 
Ticket," "White and Harrison Electoral Ticket," "Union anti-Van Buren 
Electoral Ticket." — Sangamo Journal, October 29, 1836. 

A similar union between White and Harrison was effected in other 
states. See State Register, September 15, 1836; Alton Telegraph, Sep- 
tember 14, 1836. 



56] THE EMEBGENCE OF THE \vm<; PABTY . r ). r ) 

ticket should designate Ids choice between Samson and White, 

and that the union electors, it' elected, should cast their voles for 

the candidate having the greater Dumber of votes in the state 

The various suggestions by the newspapers and conventions 
as to methods of voting, and the absence of detailed election 
laws, combined to create confusion among voters, among election 
officials, and among the leaders of the anti-Van Buren party, so 
much so that the exact vote for Harrison, or White, in Illinois 
can never be known. There was no uniformity in voting for 
presidential electors. In some precincts voters declared for presi- 
dent and vice president without the intermediary of the electoral 
ticket : not infrequently a voter chose a presidential candidate 
from one ticket and a vice-presidential candidate from another, — 
an impossibility under the present law. As many as four ways 
of voting may be found in a single county, but if such lack of 
uniformity caused any comment or astonishment, it seems not to 
have been recorded.' 14 Generally speaking there were three presi- 
dential tickets in the field : Van Buren and Johnson ; Harrison 
and Tyler ; White and Tyler. The last two tickets had the same 
set of electors. Despite the lateness of beginning the Harrison 
candidacy in Illinois, he was considered the principal candidate 
of the anti-Van Buren forces on the eve of the election, and was 
supported accordingly. 

From newspaper comment, one is led to believe that the 
insistence of the Whigs on an open declaration for Harrison 
favored the Van Buren party. That Harrison was stronger than 
White outside the state, seems to have been the general idea in 

™State Register, September 15, 1836. 
r ' 4 E. g., Macoupin County. 

(1) Woodriver precinct: Van Buren-Johnson ; Harrison- 

Tyler. 

(2) Fork precinct: Van Buren electors; John Henry. 

(3) Otter Creek precinct: Wm. H. Harrison-John Tyler; 

H. L. White-John Tyler (same electors) ; M. Van 
Buren-R. M. Johnson. 

(4) Carlinville precinct : Two sets of electors, with nothing 

to indicate for whom they stood. 
MSS. Election Returns. Carlinville (Court House). There was a 
similar confusion in almost all the counties. See MSS. Election Returns, 
in Sangamon, Fayette, Edwards, and Menard counties. There was even 
more confusion in Coles than in Macoupin County. See MSS. Election 
Returns for that county. 



56 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [56 

Illinois, and on account of this feeling many original White men 
supported Van Buren rather than risk electing Harrison by 
voting the union ticket. On the part of the Whigs and their 
allies the battle cry was, anything to beat Van Buren, and had 
the Whigs been willing to give their united support to White, it 
is not at all improbable that Illinois would have declared against 
Van Buren in 1836. 35 

Among the Whigs there was as yet little hero worship ; the 
enthusiasm displayed in the campaign of 1840 was lacking in the 
Harrison-White-Van Buren contest of 1836. Instead of carrying 
on a brilliant offensive contest in which the opposition could be 
carried off its feet by the force of enthusiasm, the Whigs took 
the defensive, trusting for success to the lack of harmony among 
the Democrats. But despite the schism in the Democratic ranks 
the Whigs suffered general defeat in Illinois. The White-Harri- 
son electoral ticket was beaten by a small majority. The Demo- 
crats had elected their Congressional candidates and a majority 
of each branch of the General Assembly. 36 For the Whigs, the 
one encouraging feature of the campaign and election was the 
generally good understanding among them about the selection of 
candidates for office. Hitherto the absence of any central 
authority, such as conventions, central committees, and corre- 
spondence committees, had resulted in a dissipation of party 
strength; but in the face of a situation in which division meant 
defeat, personal animosities and individual ambitions were very 
generally sacrificed for the good of the party. This tendency 
toward concentration of strength was real and encouraging, but 
it w r as being constantly opposed by a Whig characteristic that 
had a habit of cropping out inopportunely, namely, opposition to 
central authority. Such a characteristic, as we shall see later, 
was detrimental to the success of the party, and was strenuously 
opposed by Mr. Lincoln, who favored a convention system of 
some sort. The Whigs very generally professed to believe that 

35 For charges made against Van Buren in this campaign as well as 
that of 1840, see post, 0000. 

36 Political personnel of the Tenth General Assembly: First Session: 
Senate — 18 Whigs, 20 Democrats, 2 anti-Van Buren Democrats ; House — 
26 Whigs, 63 Democrats, 2 (Graham and Joseph Green) unknown. Second 
Session : Senate — 17 Whigs, 20 Democrats, 3 anti-Van Buren Democrats ; 
House — 30 Whigs, 60 Democrats, 1 (Green) unknown. 

Note — Gatewood changed from Whig to Democrat between sessions. 
See Appendix. 



57] THE EMERGENCE OF THE WHIG PARTY 57 

the convention was a Democratic device by means of which the 
leaders of that party were able to dictate to candidates and 
voters alike. Although they were divided upon the convention 
question, opposition to it became weaker as time went on until 
by 1842 it was a settled fact that the Whigs were wedded to the 
system in all its ramnifications. 37 

The Tenth General Assembly, which convened December 5, 
1836, has since become famous for the political prominence which 
many of its members attained. Among the Whigs the best known 
figure was Abraham Lincoln. Less well known were Edwin B. 
Webb, Whig candidate for governor in 1852, Orville H. Brown- 
ing, first Eepublican Senator from Illinois, Cyrus Edwards, 
brother of Governor Ninian Edwards and Whig candidate for 
governor in 1838, Richard N. Cullom, father of Senator Shelby 
M. Cullom, and Ninian W. Edwards, son of Governor Ninian 
Edwards, afterwards appointed state superintendent of public 
instruction by a Democratic governor. Opposed politically to 
this group were, Stephen A. Douglas, Augustus C. French, 
Democratic governor from 1846 to 1853, James Shields, who 
afterwards represented three different states in the United States 
Senate, John A. McClernand, noted Civil War general, John 
Dougherty, supporter of Lincoln in 1858 and Republican lieu- 
tenant-governor from 1869 to 1873, and Usher F. Linder, who 
became a Whig in 1840, but subsequently returned to the Demo- 
cratic ranks and canvassed the state for Douglas in 1858. 

Despite the presence of so many actual and prospective 
politicians in the General Assembly, the political significance of 
the first session is slight as compared with the session of 1834-5. 
Local matters distracted the attention of the lawmakers from 
national politics. Besides the internal improvement bill, which 
was passed as a sectional rather than a political measure, the 
question of the location of the state capital engrossed the atten- 
tion of both houses during a great part of the first session, and a 
close study of the various votes leaves the feeling that many of 
the most able members concerned themselves more in getting 
advantages for their local constituencies than in attempting 
either to legislate for the good of the state or to go on record 

37 For an account of the attitude of the Illinois Whigs toward the 
nominating convention system, see Thompson, Attitude of the Western 
■Whigs toward the Convention System (Proceedings of the Mississippi 
Valley Historical Association, V., 167 ff.). 



58 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [58 

concerning national issues. In the house, however, a resolution 
endorsing Jackson's administration was passed by a large ma- 
jority, many of the Whigs voting for it. Early in the session a 
Whig had been elected speaker of the senate, through a coalition 
of Whigs and anti-Van Buren Democrats ; and the dissatisfaction 
among the Democrats in the senate may account for the non- 
political activities of the same party in the house. 

There was a short extra session of the General Assembly in 
July, 1837, called by the governor to consider the difficulties 
that the state was having to meet its financial obligations. The 
panic of that year gave Governor Duncan an opportunity to 
express his opinion of the financial policy of the national adminis- 
tration, which he did in no uncertain terms. "At the time the 
President of the United States assumed the responsibility of 
ordering the public money to be removed from their legal de- 
posit in the Bank of the United States, for the purpose, as he 
avowed, of preventing the re-charter of that institution by Con- 
gress, there never was a sounder currency, or a more healthy 
state of things in any government in the world. ' ' After showing 
the inadvisability of establishing the state banks, the governor 
went on to say, ' ' Before the public were aware of the ruin which 
this wild scheme portended, the Executive and a portion of his 
party seeing their error it would seem, endeavored to escape the 
consequence by amusing the people with the absurd and imprac- 
tical project of an exclusive hard money currency. . . . 
There must be change, there must be reform. The Public 
Treasury must be again firmly placed in the custody of law ; and 
all power and control must be repudiated. . . The patronage 
of the Executive must be reduced, and his power to remove 
public officers so modified as to prevent his displacing a faithful 
and competent man, either to gratify party malice, or to intimi- 
date him in the free and independent exercise of the election 
franchise. . . That control over the public press, and Con- 
gress which has been so powerfully exercised by the appoint- 
ment of newspaper editors, and members of the Senate and House 
of Eepresentatives to high and lucrative offices by the executive, 
should as far as possible be obviated." This utterance reflected 
the attitude of the Whigs in general and the late anti-Van Buren 
Democrats in particular. They had no quarrel with Jackson, 
but they refused to support Van Buren or to approve the 
acts of the president, which they considered to have been inspired 
by unscrupulous advisers. The Democrats on their side took the 



Tin: i..M Of TBI WHIG PARTS 59 

opposite view. They endorsed in Mo the policies <>f both .lack-son 
and Van Buren, and the endorsement of the Latter made a cleav- 

iiat unmistakably divided the WhigS from the Democrats. 

The state campaign of 1838 differed from the campaign of 

in that tlie opposition to Van Bnren was less evident. The 
Whi^s and their allies had accepted Van Bnrenism as a calamity, 
but they preferred to work along other lines than those of general 
Opposition. As yet, however, they hesitated to use the term 
'• Whig" so as to include all elements opposed to Van Buren, and 
contented themselves with calling the former White Democrats, 
Conservatives." In order to bring the supporters of the national 
administration into disrepute, the Whig newspapers stigmatized 
the general Democratic ticket as "Office Holders Ticket," giving 
the name "Peoples Ticket" to their own. 89 Political lines were 
more closely drawn and more easily recognized in 1838, than they 
had been at any time before ; but even at that time the sharp 
demarcation that appeared in 1840, could not yet be seen. The 
Democrats thought to make a master stroke by nominating for 
governor a candidate from the extreme northern part of the state. 
Accordingly Benjamin Stephenson of Jo Daviess County was 
named as Democratic standard bearer. 40 Stephenson was 
charged with being a defaulter to the national government, and 
as a consequence was forced to withdraw from the race. A 
hastily reassembled convention named in his place Thomas Carlin 
of Greene County. The Whigs chose Cyrus Edwards of Madison 
County as their candidate. Edwards w r as a brother of Governor 
Edwards, and one of the most prominent men of the state. Gen- 
erally speaking the issue of the campaign was internal improve- 

38 Vandalia Free Press and Illinois Intelligencer, July 27, 28. 1838. 

39 Ibid. The term used in parts of central Illinois to designate the 
alliance was "Anti-sub Treasury Ticket." See Sangamo Journal, 1838, 
passim. In some localities there were local issues of considerable import- 
ance, e.g., the division of counties, location of county seats. What will 
appear later to be of significance was an "anti-Junto" Whig ticket in 
Sangamon County. See Illinois Republican, July 25, 1838. 

40 For many years the demand for northern representation in public 
office had been growing in both parties. As early as 1834 an effort had 
been made to allow northern Illinois one of the United States Senators. 
Until Ford was nominated for governor in 1842, all the candidates for 
that office had come from the southern counties. See Sangamo Journal, 
November 23, 1834. 



60 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS . [60 

merits. 41 As we have noticed already, the Whigs in 1837 had 
favored abandoning the system. Edwards did not oppose in- 
ternal improvements, but advocated the building of railroads 
with private capital. 42 Edwards had the support of the Whigs 
and Conservatives, but because of his activities in the Love joy 
riots he was very generally opposed by those who had any lean- 
ing whatever toward abolitionism. 43 The election resulted in a 
Democratic victory. Not only did that party elect its governor 
and lieutenant-governor, but also two of the three members of 
Congress and a majority of the members of the General 
Assembly. 44 

The state administration changed on the first Monday of 
December when Duncan surrendered his place to Carlin, who 
was in no respects the equal of his predecessor. The General 
Assembly soon busied itself with national affairs. Owing to the 
political shrewdness of Lincoln, Fithian, Edwards, Baker, and 
Du Bois, both houses adopted resolutions condemning an inde- 
pendent treasury and a -metallic currency. From this time on 
the Whigs may be considered as a distinct party with a purpose 

41 For contrary view, see T. C. Browne to H. Eddy, February 10, 
1838 (Eddy MSS.). There were, however, certain fundamental principles 
of a radical nature claimed by the more zealous Whigs. 'WHIG POLICY : 
To provide a sound circulation medium for the people, and in quantity, 
adequate to the want of the country. To equalize the exchange of the 
country, so that a dollar in Illinois will be equal to a dollar in New York 
or «£Zt;-any-place-else. To practice economy in the administration of the 
Government. To foster enterprise and industry in all classes of com- 
munity — and regard merits wherever found — and thus to arrest THE 
DESOLATING EFFECTS OF A POLICY WHICH IS PASSING 
WITH A HURRICANE VIOLENCE OVER THE LAND. The Whigs 
would have the farmer obtain $10 a barrel for his Flour, and that in 
money, which would be received by the Government for lands and other 
dues — $20 a 'head' for his cows and for asses heads just what they are 
worth." Vandalia Free Press and Illinois Intelligencer, /uly 27, 28, 1838. 
See also Sangamo Journal, March 2^, September 27, 1839. 

42 Gillespie, Remembrances, 23. 

^Emancipator, February 15, 1838. 

44 Political personnel of Eleventh General Assembly : First Session : 
Senate — 20 Whigs, 19 Democrats, 1 anti-sub Treasury Democrat ; House — 
41 Whigs, 2 sub-Treasury Whigs, 45 Democrats, 3 anti-sub Treasury 
Democrats. Second Session : Senate — No change from First Session ; 
House — 42 Whigs, 2 sub-Treasury Whigs, 45 Democrats, 2 anti-sub 
Treasury Democrats. 



b'l| Tin: EMERGENCE OF THE wine PARTY 61 

more consistent than those held by any of the factions and parties 

o\' which it was composed. The most revolutionary measure 

brought up in either house was that introduced by Mr. Ficklin, 

in which the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions were endorsed, 
and the dry bones of Federalism rattled once more. This resolu- 
tion, however, was laid on the table, and seems never to have 
been taken up. All this activity was but preliminary to tin; 
presidential campaign of 1840, which really began in 1839, when 
the YYhi^s. assembled in convention, gave an exhibition of en- 
thusiasm and solidarity never before seen in that party, and 
which carried them to victory in the national elections. 

Politics in Illinois during the period of the emergence of 
the Whig party, 1834-1840, was characterized, as has been shown, 
by considerable political confusion, due in part to the efforts of 
the state to establish adequate banking facilities, and to build a 
comprehensive system of internal improvements; in part to the 
absence of definite policies on which the Whigs could unite ; in 
part to dissensions among the Democrats; and in part to the 
impossibility of determining exactly the party affiliation of 
political leaders. The instability of party lines and the lack of 
definite knowledge about political alignments are illustrated by 
the character of Duncan's support for governor in 1834. Men 
of all shades of political belief voted for him, evidently believing 
that he represented their views regarding national issues. Two 
years later the same indecision, while not so pronounced, was 
evident. Then, Whigs that boasted of their party orthodoxy, 
united in supporting White against Van Buren for the presi- 
dency, until Harrison became an active candidate. Apparently 
their platform was based on personal, — anything to defeat Van 
Buren, — and not on political grounds. Naturally party measures 
crystallized, and in the first Whig state convention in 1839, the 
Whigs found common political ground upon which they could 
oppose the Democrats. 



CHAPTER III. 

Harrison and Tyler. 
1839-1841. 

The campaign of 1840 was carried on by the Illinois Whigs 
with a great show of enthusiasm. Even before a Whig standard 
bearer had been selected, the members of that party had pledged 
their support in convention assembled to the future nominee. 
Van Buren was never popular in Illinois, and on that account 
the pre-convention campaign of the Whigs was marked by their 
attacks upon the president. Whoever the candidate of their 
party might be, they realized the importance of weakening Van 
Buren 's cause in the state and deliberately set about to do it. 
Harrison's nomination by the Harrisburg Convention was the 
signal for outbursts of great enthusiasm by the Whigs. His 
military reputation was a valuable stock in trade in a campaign 
against Van Buren. Thus there were combined on the part of 
the Whigs great enthusiasm for their own candidate and a dog- 
ged determination to defeat his opponent ; and this combination, 
which was to a degree accidental, brought about a flood of en- 
thusiasm that swept cold deliberations aside and served to 
characterize the campaign of 1840, Both candidates were 
abused and charged with being connected with every unpopular 
movement of the day; and before election day the campaign 
resolved itself into a "mud slinging" contest. Although the 
Democrats carried Illinois, Van Buren 's defeat made them sour 
and vindictive. Hitherto they had often divided over non- 
essentials in the General Assembly, with the result that the 
Whigs had been able to carry out their own policies. The de- 
feat of 1840 brought them to their senses. Under the stress of 
preserving their party integrity, minor differences were for the 
time forgotten, and a united front shown to the enemy. Be- 
cause of this changed attitude of the Democratic party, the 
activities of the 1840-1 session of the General Assembly differed 
materially from those of former sessions. 

62 



ti:i | H \ukis<>.\ and TYLEB 63 

As early as January, L839, opponents of the national ad- 
ministration held local conventions and mass meetings. Oil the 
26tll of that month the "Whig Young Men" of Springfield and 

Sangamon County met at the court house "for the purpose of 
organizing and future operation/' These young men struck the 
key note of the approaching presidential campaign when in a 
preamble to a set of resolutions they said, "Whereas, the pres- 
ent alarming and dangerous situation of our national affairs, 
arising from the daring contempt of law and order that has 
been manifested in various parts of our Union, — from the un- 
exampled corruption of unprincipled men holding high and 
responsible offices, embezzling the public money, producing 
enormous defalcations, and wresting hard earned savings from 
the hands of the people to gratify their own cupidity, — from 
the rottenness which seems to have tainted the whole system of 
the present administration, and from the reiterated attempts 
of the Executive to palm upon the nation a scheme which ought 
to be reprobated by every honest man, and every disinterested 
patriot ; call loudly upon every individual who possesses any 
regard for the welfare of his country, to use the most strenuous 
exertions to promote its interest and maintain its honor." 1 In 
order to create enthusiasm it w r as decided to hold similar meet- 
ings throughout the county. Nor w r as organization to stop at 
the county lines. A correspondence committee and a committee 
on address were appointed, the one to correspond with young 
Whigs all over the state with the ultimate object of holding a 
convention, the other to set forth the cardinal principles for 
which the young Whigs of Sangamon County stood. 2 

About a month later the Whig members of the General 
Assembly met to discuss ways and means of organizing the 
party forces and carrying on the approaching presidential 
campaign. Henry I. Mills of Edwards County presided. Mr. 
Lincoln explained the object of the meeting, after which 0. H. 
Browning of Adams County offered a set of resolutions that 
condemned the Democratic party in general and President Van 
Bnren in particular. Lincoln offered a resolution providing 
for a committee to prepare an address "setting forth the causes 
of our opposition to the present administration, and recommend- 

'For complete report of this meeting see Sanganio Journal, February 
-. 1830. 

L 'For address sec Sanganio Journal, February 9, 1839. 



64 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [64 

ing all the opponents of the Misrule of the Government to 
unite upon the platform of union and compromise." The 
most significant utterances were those in which the "Great 
Whig and Conservative parties" were called upon to oust Van 
Buren from the presidency, and that of Lincoln when he re- 
ferred to "union and compromise." Apparently these utter- 
ances were a direct bid for the support of the dissatisfied ele- 
ments in the Democratic ranks. Whatever the object in view, 
such an invitation gave the opportunity to these elements to 
join with the Whigs without becoming an integral part of the 
party. As might be expected under the circumstances, the best 
known leaders of the party took part in the deliberations of 
this meeting. Among these were Lincoln, Hardin, Davidson, 
Gen. James B. Moore, Thornton, A. Williams, Servant, Archer, 
and Churchill. 3 

It was the opinion of this meeting that no convention for 
nominating delegates to the National Whig Convention was 
necessary. By the middle of the summer, however, the Chicago 
American proposed that there be held at Springfield on Sep- 
tember 2, a convention made up of delegates, one delegate to be 
selected in each county in convention assembled. This proposal 
was endorsed by the Whig press with the modification that the 
number of delegates be increased and all Whigs be invited to 
attend the convention. This modified proposal was popular, 
and in a great many counties conventions are known to have 
been held, 4 and in them enthusiasm ran high. Less reserved 
than their senators and representatives had been in their meet- 
ing at the state capital, the people very generally demanded 
that Clay be the party nominee, but promised their support to 
any candidate that might be named. Denunciation of the na- 
tional administration in the most bitter terms was in order at 
these meetings. At Belleville it was resolved, "That it is our 
deliberate opinion, that the policy of the present administration 
is calculated to corrupt the morals of the people ; and sooner or 
later to destroy the liberties of our country, and that the sal- 
vor full account of meeting see Sangamo Journal, March 16, 1839. 
4 The Whigs are known to have held conventions in the following 
counties : Logan, St. Clair, Menard, Sangamon, Hancock, Adams, Bureau, 
Peoria, Clinton and Tazewell. No doubt there were many more. For 
proceedings of county meetings see Sangamo Journal, March 3, August 9, 
September 20, October 4, 1839. 



n UIRISON a\!> TTLEB 65 

ration of all we hold dear on earth depends upon the union 

of the Whigfl at the next presidential election.' 

The movement for a convention, which was began by the 

3, culminated in the holding of B Whig State Convention 

at Springfield, Illinois, October 7-9, 1839. € At the beginning 

of the first session, delegates from twenty-two counties were 
it. Later, others appeared and took their seats until at 
hast half of the counties in the state were represented. Fol- 
lowing the recommendation of a nominating committee, William 
Moore of St. Clair County was made permanent chairman of 
the convention, while Joshua Beal of Wabash and Robert A. 
Glenn of Schuyler were chosen secretaries. Because the Na- 
tional Whig Convention had not yet met, and because they 
feared to commit themselves in advance of the choice of that 
body, nothing more in the way of suggesting presidential can- 
didates was done than to express entire confidence in both 
"Harries of the West," — William Henry Harrison and Henry 
Clay, — and pledge the Whig vote of Illinois to the candidate to 
be named. 

In sharp contrast to the actions of the national body, which 
met two months later, the state convention adopted a clean cut 
platform that expressed unequivocal opinions on both national 
and state issues. Van Buren's administration was bitterly 
denounced, and the adoption of the sub-treasury system was 
called a "daring and dangerous attempt to concentrate all 
power in the executive — to unite in his hand the purse and the 
sword — to create two species of currency, gold and silver for 
pampered office holders and rags for the people, the laborers, 
and producers of the country: and that it will fasten a swarm 
of sub-treasurers as leaches on the public monies, whose security 
to the government after they are glutted, will be like that of 
Price and Swartwout — leg bail in a foreign land." The presi- 
dent himself was denounced as an " artful politician and a selfish 
experimenter on the resources, credit and prosperity of the 
people. ' ' 

Concerning state issues the convention was no less em- 
phatic in its denunciation of Democratic measures and policies. 

r, Sangamo Journal, August g, 1839. 

*Sangamo Journal, October 11, 1839. In the preamble to a set of reso- 
lutions offered by John T. Stuart the statement was made that this was 
the "first State Convention of the Whig party in Illinois." 



66 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [66 

Carlin's administration was declared to be a failure and un- 
worthy the support of the people, because of the "vacillation 
of purpose" of the governor. The state's banking system re- 
ceived special attention at the hands of the convention, which 
declared it a complete failure. This system had been originally 
supported by Democrats and Whigs alike, but now the latter 
party "disclaimed its paternity," citing the fact that the Gen- 
eral Assembly which had authorized the existence of the banks 
was Democratic. Thus in convention assembled the Whigs re- 
pudiated state banking as it then existed, and denied all respon- 
sibility for its establishment. 

In addition to denouncing the Democratic administrations, 
both national and state, the delegates re-affirmed the Whig 
doctrines as laid down by Clay and Webster, and pledged the 
party in Illinois to support the nominee of the approaching 
National Whig Convention. They chose delegates and substi- 
tutes to that convention, 7 and five electoral candidates, all of 
whom were well known for their orthodox whiggery and cam- 
paigning ability. They instructed the electoral candidates to 
' ' address in person the people in different portions of the state on 
the subjects to be involved in that great contest." 8 

An examination of the personnel of the first Whig State 
Convention reveals the fact that its members were drawn from 
every element opposed to Van Buren and his administration; 
and the charge made by the Democratic press that the Whig 
party was made up of Clay men, bank men, anti-Masons, Abol- 
itionists, old Federalists, and Federal-Whigs, seems to be not 
far wrong. 9 At times these divergent elements had little in 

7 The delegates to the Harrisburg Convention were : *George W. 
Ralph, St. Clair; *Ezra Baker, Wabash; *William B. Warren, Morgan; 
William A. Minshall, Schuyler; *Walter L. Newberry, Cook. 

Substitutes (corresponding in order named to delegates) were: 
Junius Hall, Madison; Q. C. Alexander, Fayette; Richard F. Barrett, 
Sangamon; *Edward A. Whipple, Tazewell; Daniel G. Garnsey, Rock 
Island. 

Those marked with * attended the convention. See Sangamo Journal, 
December 24, 1839. 

8 See State Register, June 12, 1840; Sangamo Journal, December 20, 

1839. 

9 State Register, January 1, 1840; Illinois Republican (Rushville) 
January 2, 1840; Harrisburg (Pa.) Reporter, December 6, 1839. 



67) hakkison and TTLEB 69 

oommon, but with Van Burenism as the issue, as it was in l «s4(), 

they could ami did unite temporarily against the eonmion foe.'" 
That the Whig leaden dared meet their opponents in the 
open, and there discuss the issues of the day, is evidenced by 
tlie tone of a set of resolutions offered by Lincoln for the con- 
sideration of a meeting of the Whig members of the (Jcneral 
Assembly. The day before, December 10, 1839, the Democrats 
assembled in state convention had denounced "whig individ- 
uals, whig policies and the Whi<x party," and to such denuncia- 
tions Lincoln took exception. He challenged their authors to 
meet him and other Whigs at any place they might designate, 
and there to plead their respective causes before the people. 
The meeting adjourned until the next evening, at which time 
it reassembled and its members listened to a "speech" by A. P. 
Field, and appointed a committee composed of Hardin, Brown- 
ing, and Baker to make arrangements with the Democrats for 
joint debate. 11 

Illinois was fully represented at the National Whig Con- 
vention held at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in December, 1839. 
From the beginning the Illinois delegates supported Clay, but 
on the last ballot they separated from their neighboring dele- 
gates and voted for Harrison, thus gaining the distinction of 
being delegates from the most southern and western state to 
support the nominee. 12 Although Clay was favored over Har- 
rison by the Illinois Whigs, that party loyally accepted the 
verdict of the nominating body and entered the campaign with 
enthusiasm. 

Harrison's nomination in December, 1839, was followed 
during the next spring and early summer by ratification meet- 
ings, both national and state. In a national ratification con- 
vention held at Baltimore in May, 1840, the Illinois delegation 

10 To give the names of all the prominent Whigs taking part in this 
convention is out of the question. There are some, however, that deserve 
mention. Among the accredited delegates were E. D. Baker and Josiah 
Francis of Sangamon : J. C. Howell of Macoupin ; W. B. Warren and 
William Sergeant of Morgan; Joshua Beal and Ezra Baker, Jr., of 
Wabash ; George Smith and William Otwell of Madison ; Archibald Job 
of Cass. John T. Stuart was one of the leading spirits. E. D. Baker 
furnished the oratory. 

"Sangamo Journal, December 20, 1839. 

12 For account of the National Nominating Convention see Monthly 
Chronicle, I., 519. 



68 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [68 

was comparatively large and attracted considerable attention. 
Upon the Illinois banner carried in the ratifying procession 
were inscribed, "She will Teach Palace Slaves to Respect the 
Log Cabin," and "The Prairies Are on Fire." 13 One of the 
largest meetings held in the West was the "Young Men's Con- 
vention, and Old Soldiers' Meeting", which convened at Spring- 
field, Illinois, June 2, 1840. As the title indicates this was a 
union meeting. The old soldiers met in a sort of rally, while 
the young Whigs held a convention. Accounts of the meeting 
are conflicting, but it is safe to say that it was attended by 
thousands, with practically every county in the state repre- 
sented. The resolutions passed are but reiterations of those 
already noticed. The meeting was intended primarily to create 
interest and enthusiasm for Harrison and it succeeded in a 
large measure. In addition it gave an opportunity to the 
younger element to assert its influence. 14 The enthusiasm gen- 
erated at this meeting spread very generally to all parts 
of the state. A great many counties held rallies in connection 
with barbecues, at which times the gathered assembly was ad- 
dressed by Lincoln or one of the other candidates for presiden- 
tial elector. 

The Whig State Convention had provided for a state central 
committee composed of five members, whose duties were to stim- 
ulate county organization and direct its work. The members 
of that committee were A. G. Henry, E. F. Barrett, A. Lincoln, 
J. F. Speed, and E. D. Baker. Following the instructions of 
the convention this committee drew up a comprehensive plan of 
organization, which, with modifications, has done service many 
times since. By this plan the leaders expected to know with 
remarkable exactness the party affiliations of every voter in the 
state. This committee had the power of appointing county 
central committees, which in turn were to divide their respective 
counties into small districts and appoint in each a sub-commit- 
tee. The sub-committee was instructed to make "perfect lists" 
of all the voters in their respective districts. Nor were the 
sub-committees to be satisfied with ascertaining their neighbors' 
party affiliations: they were urged to encourage all Whigs to 
keep in line, and to seek out wavering Democrats and try to 

13 Norton, Revolution of 1840, p. in. 

14 For account of this meeting see Sangamo Journal, June 5, 1840. 



HARRISON \M» n iii: 69 

penuade them to support Harrison and Tyler. 11 The circular 
embodying the plans of organization was intended for the eyes 

of good Whigs only, but thanks to the Democratic press it be- 
came public. Thereupon the Whig aewspapers copied the cir- 
eular and urged the acceptance of its provisions. "We call 
upon the Whigs in every county throughout the state to organ- 
ize on the plan recommended in the circular. . . . If the vil- 
lainous post masters have intercepted any of the circulars going 
to the several counties, the Whigs in each county are hereby 
requested to organize . . . and . . . rid . . . the country of the 
corrupt horde of hireling office holders, which are now, like 
hungry blood suckers, eating and stealing our substance." 

Such methods characterized the presidential campaign of 
1840. Not only was genuine and legitimate enthusiasm mani- 
fested, but extravagant and farcical pretensions were carried to 
an almost unbelievable extreme. Sympathies and passions were 
appealed to; the hospitality, unpretentious life, bravery, loy- 
alty, and even the illiteracy and poverty of Harrison were cited 
and magnified by the Whigs in an endeavor to bring their can- 
didate into sharp contrast with the cultured and cosmopolitan 
Van Buren. 16 Songs, learned more quickly and remembered 
longer on account of their jingle than because of any sense they 
conveyed, were used to drown out any arguments that might 
be advanced by friends of the administration; pictures of log 

15 In Lincoln, Complete Works, I., 38-9, the circular is printed as 
having been written by Mr. Lincoln. The following is the way in which 
the circular became public : a copy was sent to John Wentworth, who pub- 
lished it in his paper, the Chicago Democrat, together with the following 
letter : 

"Springfield, January 1, 1840. 
J. Wentworth, Esq.— Sir : This letter [the circular] fell into my hands 
in a manner which I need not mention to you. It is well concocted, but 
it is hoped that their designs may be frustrated, by exposing their secretary 
at an early day. — It is printed in the form of a circular, and has the 
following endorsement: 'Don't forget to send Stuart a list of names, to 
whom he can send documents. Yours etc. 

A. G. HENRY.' " 

See Sangamo Journal, February 21, 1840. 

16 For an excellent account of the methods of Whig campaigning in 
1840, see Buckingham, The Eastern and Western States of America, III., 
283 ff. 



70 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [70 

cabins and cider barrels 17 in the immediate vicinity of the 
American flag floating from a tall pole spoke mutely but effect- 
ively of some subtle connection between the environment of the 
frontier and a love for the country's flag. If the Whigs began 
these nonsensical methods of getting votes, the Democrats were 
not slow to adopt them with certain modifications. 18 

As soon as the nominations of the respective national con- 
ventions became known, attacks were made upon the integrity, 
honor, and ability of the candidates, and these attacks in a short 
time descended to invectives without foundation. The president 
was charged with being a blue light Federalist in 1812; an 
enemy to Jackson in 1824; a supporter of a large standing 

17 An examination of western Whig newspapers leads to the conclusion 
that the use of cuts of log cabins, cider barrels, and flag poles was very 
general, and on account of their exact similarity in size, etc., they must 
have been stock cuts sold or distributed from some central agency. Com- 
pare Sangamo Journal and Log Cabin Herald (campaign paper published 
in Chillicothe, O.). The origin of the expressions having to do with log 
cabins and hard cider seems to have been in an effort on the part of the 
Democrats to make capital of Harrison's early poverty. In reply to such 
an accusation a Whig paper said : "We thank the enemy for giving us 
the LOG CABIN for our party EMBLEM. It is a most fitting illustra- 
tion of our principles. It carries the mind back to a period of Republican 
simplicity, when our Rulers were faithful and honest. Fortunately our 
country is not so old in years, nor our People so enervated by luxury, 
as to forget their LOG CABIN origin. We all know that Patriotism 
resides among our yeomanry. The watchfires of Liberty are guarded and 
fed by the dwellers in Log Cabins. We are proud therefore, of the oppor- 
tunity of supporting a Log-Cabin candidate for President. We joyfully 
accept the LOG CABIN as our COAT OF ARMS."— Sangamo Journal, 
July 3, 1840. 

18 For examples of typical songs sung during the campaign, see Norton, 
Revolution of 1840, Sangamo Journal, April 24, May 9, 1840. Both parties 
established campaign sheets, e.g. Ball in Motion, (Democratic) issued from 
office of Chicago Democrat; Old Hickory, (Democratic) issued from office 
of State Register; Old Soldier, (Whig) issued from office of Sangamo 
Journal. See State Register, February 5, 21, 1840; Scott, Newspapers and 
Periodicals of Illinois, 1814-1879. Index. One of the most effective Whig 
campaign stories was that told of Harrison's address to his old comrades 
when taking leave of them after the War of 1812. "If ever you come to 
Vincennes, you will always find a plate and a knife and fork at my table, 
and I assure you that you will never find my door shut and the string of 
the latch pulled in:" Sangamo Journal, May 9. 1840. 



71 | H AKKISON AND TTLEB 71 

army : an al>«>l it ion ist at heart; a friend and supporter of free- 
o suffrage; a Bpendthrift ; unfriendly to the West, to free 
labor, to Catholicism and to white suffrage in some cases; bit- 
terly opposed to federal aid for internal improvements; and 
finally with being uppish in his every day intercourse with bis 
fellow citizens. 18 A part of these accusations the Democratic 
and politicians tried to refute; the rest were left con- 
temptuously unanswered. 

The Democrats on their part did not hesitate to turn like 
weapons against the Whips. The result was that every act and 
utterance of Harrison was subjected to the closest scrutiny. 
First of all, it was charged that the Whig candidate was ex- 
tremely senile. This charge the Whigs could not effectively 
disprove, but as if to render it inoperative they called upon the 
young men of the party to show their loyalty to the old hero. 
In addition it was urged that the candidate had not the ability 
to fill the office he sought, and as evidence to prove this con- 
tention pointed to his poor administration while governor of 
Indiana Territory. The strangest charge of all against the hero 
of Tippecanoe was that of military incompetency, and coward- 
ice manifested in battle ; strange because Harrison was in the 
minds of western people second only to Jackson in military 
ability and courage. What made the charge the more galling 
to the Illinois Whigs was the resurrection of an old accusation 
of this nature made by Governor Duncan, who had shared 
honors with Major Croghan in the heroic defense of Fort Ste- 
phenson. To the rank and file of both parties, however, this 
charge was preposterous and very generally unbelieved, despite 
the fact that the Democratic press reiterated it time and time 
again and brought forward rather good proof to support the 
contention. 20 To offset the prevalent opinion that Van Buren 
was not one of the common people, there was unearthed an old 

19 Sangamo Journal, October 8, 1836. January 19, March 30, December 
27. 1839. May 9, July 10, 19, August 2, 14, 28, 1840. In some of these 
articles Van Buren's votes in United States senate, his message to Con- 
gress, Clarke's Report of New York Convention, and Holland's ran Buren 
are cited as evidence. The Whig press was adept in making such charges 
effective. In giving a two column account of the new furnishings in the 
White House. French names were uniformly given to articles whenever 
possible, even though they were of domestic manufacture. See Sangamo 
Journal, August 2, 1840. 

-"State Register. October 30, 1840. 



72 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [72 

vote of Harrison's in the Ohio legislature, which seemed to put 
him on record as favoring property qualification for voting and 
imprisonment for debt. Because the entire procedure was sus- 
ceptible of double interpretation the charge did little more than 
to cloud the real issues of the campaign. 21 

The greatest disability under which the Whigs worked, was 
the widespread belief that Harrison had a leaning toward the 
abolitionists. The Whig press and party organization recog- 
nized the danger of allowing such a charge to go unrefuted, and 
consequently nothing was left undone to convince Illinois voters 
that Harrison did not belong to that sect "of misguided philan- 
thropists." 22 Letters from the state organization with their 
replies from Harrison or his managers were printed in the Whig 
papers with the declaration that the Ohio man was a safe can- 
didate ; and this was no doubt true, for a study of these letters 
indicates that Harrison was satisfied with conditions, and de- 
sired to see no change whatever in the domestic affairs of any 
state, unless undertaken and carried out by that state itself. 23 
Although the Whig leaders failed to prove conclusively that 
their candidate was untainted with abolitionism, the effect of 
such charges on the minds of the voters was more than neutral- 
ized by the widespread rumors that Van Buren was an out and 
out abolitionist, and that he was only waiting for an opportu- 
nity to declare his position. 24 

Much has been said and written about the failure of the 
National Whig Convention of 1839 to promulgate a platform 
of principles upon which to base their claims for political sup- 

21 See State Register, September 31, 1830. 

—House Journal, 1838-9, p. 170. 

23 See Harrison to T. Sloo, Sangamo Journal, June 11, 1840; Harrison 
to H. Alexander, Ibid. April 24, 1840; Harrison to A. G. Henry, Ibid. 
July 17, 1840. See also State Register, September 21, 1839, (quoting from 
Indiana State Register, and Boston Globe), July 17, 1840. For report of 
Harrison's Cheviot speech see Sangamo Journal, June 11, 1840. In an 
address said to have been delivered at Vincennes in 1835 Harrison said : 
"Am I wrong, fellow citizens,, in applying the terms weak, presumptuous, 
and unconstitutional to the measures of the emancipation?" In a letter 
written the same year Harrison is said to have declared that Congress 
had no right to abolish slavery in any state, and only in the District of 
Columbia on the consent of Virginia and Maryland. Speeches in Con- 
gressional Globe, VIII, (Appendix), throw light on this subject. 

2i Sangamo Journal, December 27, 1839. 



73] HABU80N and tvi.i.i; 73 

port, and the generally accepted idea is that such failure was 

due to the knowledge among the leaders that Dp declaration of 
principles could be made without alienating one or more of the 
conflicting factions thai went to make up the opposition 
to Van Buren. The Whig party in Illinois was not unlike the 
national organization in that it was made up of widely divergent 
elements, yet in the state convention of 1839, as has been seen, 
the Whigs came out openly upon issues that could not be mis- 
taken, and a little later they declared their willingness to discuss 
them before the people in joint debate. There was a tendency, 
however, to inject personal abuse even when real issues were 
under discussion. The so-called "declaration of Harrisonian 
Principles' ' were thinly disguised attacks upon the Jackson 
and Van Buren administrations, and a discussion of them often 
partook of the nature of personal attack. In the hands of 
skillful campaigners these principles w r ere practically irresisti- 
ble, for even the Democratic leaders could not deny their 
applicability to a republican form of government. 

First of all came the declaration that Harrison favored the 
proposition to make the president ineligible for re-election, and 
in proclaiming this doctrine the Whigs naturally applied the 
corollary that the incumbent of the office carried on the admin- 
istration of the government in the interest of his re-election, 
and more specifically that Jackson had done so, and that Van 
Buren 's whole term of office had been shaped with that object 
in view. Secondly, the Whigs raised the cry "back to the Con- 
stitution," charging Van Buren and his advisers with having 
perverted that instrument for their own benefit. Accompany- 
ing these declarations were demands for rigid accountability of 
public officers, more freedom by the states in administering 
their domestic affairs, freedom in election for public officials, a 
stable and uniform currency, and finally the demand for fed- 
eral encouragement of American manufactures, and a restora- 
tion of confidence and credit throughout the land. In addition, 
any increase in the standing army, or the enactment of any 
enlistment law embodying the conscription feature, was con- 
demned. 25 

Although the Illinois Whigs declared for a protective tariff, 
they did not press it on the voters as a vital issue during the 
campaign of 1839-40, apparently for the reason that the people 

"For a list of these principles see Sangamo Journal, July 24, 1840. 



74 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [74 

of Illinois naturally favored a moderate tariff of the type of the 
one of 1846. Instead they relied for success on persuading the 
voters that Harrison was their logical candidate, and that Van 
Buren was unworthy of re-election. 

A prominent characteristic of the presidential campaign of 
1840, was the use, or rather misuse, of epithets to designate 
parties, factions and cliques. The Whigs were called bankites, 
wigs, wiggies, wiggles, Federalists, blue lights, and Abolition- 
ists; while the Democrats, much against their wish, were stig- 
matized as Locofocos, Van Burenites, Tories, and Abolitionists. 
In the case of the Whigs, they hated above all the appellation, 
Federalists, for it was generally believed that the roots of the 
Whig party extended into the anti-Jeffersonian party of 1800, 
and to the mind of the ordinary voter of Illinois in 1840, oppo- 
sition to Jefferson in 1800 and to Madison in 1812, was unpar- 
donable. The Democratic press, recognizing that this was the 
most odious of all the terms applied to the Whig party, very 
generally refused to call its opponents anything but Federalists, 
and worked industriously to fasten the idea in the minds of the 
people that there was little difference between the Federalists 
and the Hartford Convention on the one hand, and the Whig 
party on the other. The Whig press and speakers very gener- 
ally used the term locofocos to designate the Democratic party, 
and by its use hoped to convey a general idea of disgrace or 
perfidy, but its use could scarcely have affected the outcome of 
the election. Of all the terms used to designate the Whig party, 
the Whigs themselves preferred to be called anti-Van Buren, 
while their opponents clung tenaciously to Democrat or Demo- 
cratic for themselves. 

Something has been said already about the abolitionist 
movement and its effect upon this campaign, but an enlargement 
of that subject at this time seems appropriate, for of all the 
issues discussed, it was the most dreaded by the leaders, the 
least understood by the rank and file, and its influence the most 
difficult to trace. The leaders and press of each party fully 
realized the political value of proving that the opposition was 
in league with the abolitionists, and consequently the most ex- 
travagant and absurd stories were circulated to show the 
friendly attitude of one or the other candidate toward the 
movement to free the slaves. Harrison was charged with 
''double dealing," that is, with expressing sympathy with the 



EABRIBON and TTLBB ffi 

abolition movement in New England, and at the same time pre- 
tending to the southerners that he t'avoiv<l a continuation and 

extension of the slavery system.- Van liuivn eame in for 
similar denunciations, hut the Democratic party organization in 
the state was too strong to allow any considerable defection 
from the party on this account. John Tyler, the Whig nominee 
for second place, escaped any such criticism, which Richard M. 
Johnson, who was the vice-presidential candidate on the Demo- 
cratic ticket, came in for considerable censure because of the 
widely circulated story that he was married to a negro woman. 
Despite the unpopularity of the abolitionists, and the great 
reluctance of cither party publicly to claim their political sup- 
port, the political leaders in Illinois made an effort to poll the 
abolition vote for their respective candidates, with the result 
that the Whigs secured the major portion of such vote, not 
because the Whigs as a party were more favorable to anti- 
slavery than were the Democrats, but rather because a majority 
of the Illinois Abolitionists had formerly been Whigs, and gave 
nominal allegiance to that party in political matters; and what 
is more significant there is little evidence to show that such 
abolitionists felt the necessity at that time of appealing to the 
ballot for redress of what they considered primarily a social and 
religious wrong. 

That Jackson's influence in Illinois politics existed long 
after he had retired from public life, is fully attested by the 
endeavor of each party to claim Jackson as a supporter for its 
candidate. The Democratic leaders laid stress on the fact that 
Van Buren had been Jackson's choice in 1836, and with this as 
a premise argued that a vote against Van Buren in 1840 would 
be an affront to ' ' Old Hickory. ' ' The Whigs, on the other hand, 
claimed that the administration of Van Buren had been so 
radically different from that of Jackson, that the Tennesseean 
actually repudiated the "Little Wizard" as his disciple. To 
help Harrison it was pointed out, and with considerable truth, 
that the training, ideals, and capacities of the "Hero of Tippe- 
canoe" were not at all unlike those possessed by the "Hero of 
New Orleans" at his accession to the presidency in 1829, and 

26 E.g. "In all the New England States he [Harrison] is an Aboli- 
tionist of the first water. In Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, and all the 
other siave-holding States, he is represented as a whole-hog slaveite — one 
who is for slavery in every form." State Register, July 17, 1840. 



76 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [76 

all the arguments used by the Jackson adherents in 1824 and 
1828, to further the interests of their candidate were revived 
and put into use by the Whigs for Harrison's benefit in 1840. 27 

During this political campaign there cropped out a charge, 
which was made by the Democratic press, that there existed at 
Springfield a Whig Junto, not unlike the "Albany Regency" 
or the "Richmond Junto." It was asserted repeatedly, and 
never was it successfully contradicted, that this self-appointed, 
dictatorial body asserted its power even in the selection of 
Whig candidates for county offices in some of the more impor- 
tant counties. Mr. Lincoln, who was pointed out by the Demo- 
cratic press as leader of this clique, vehemently denied that 
there existed such a body, called the editor of the State Register 
a liar, but, so far as is known to the writer, he brought forward 
no evidence to prove his contentions. Whatever the merits of 
the controversy may be, it cannot be denied that Lincoln, 
Stuart, W. H. Herndon, Logan, Baker, and other Springfield 
Whigs possessed an influence in the councils of the party out of 
all proportion to their numerical strength, but it is perhaps not 
too much to say that this influence was based entirely on supe- 
rior political ability, for the Whigs of Jacksonville, Alton, 
Chicago, and Galena were too numerous and had too much 
ambition to have given up the party leadership on any other 
ground. 28 

In the August election of 1840, the Democrats succeeded 
in electing fifty-one of the ninety-one members of the lower 
house of the General Assembly, but this success was in no wise 
indicative of what might be expected in the November election, 

27 The Whig organization, however, was unable to prevent certain mem- 
bers of that party, who were fanatical anti-Jackson men, from attacking 
the "old hero" unmercifully. Mr. Hodge, editor of the Free Press, is re- 
ported to have said late in the year 1839, "It is time the eighth of January 
was stricken from the calendar of Festivals. I firmly believe that if the 
British had burned and pillaged New Orleans, it would not have been so 
great an injustice to the country as the effect (of) General Jackson's 
administrations have been, and will be for generations to come." Quoted 
in State Register, September 7, 1839. Particular stress was laid upon the 
statement that Jacksonianism and Van Burenism were entirely different, 
see Hales' Memoirs, I., 278; Sangamo Journal, November 7, 1836; T. C. 
Browne to H. Eddy, February 25, 1840. (Eddy MSS.) 

28 For a thorough discussion of the Springfield Junto together with 
specific charges of political dictation, see State Register, November 23, 
1839, passim. 



77 I BARBI80N and TVi.i.i; 77 

for the apportionment under which members of the General 

iibly wviv elected was t hat of 1836, since which date the 
Northern counties, which were supposed to he Whig, had 
received a very large immigration from tile older states and 
from Europe. An examination of the election returns shows a 
marked sectional aspect. With the exception of Madison County 
and four counties bordering on the Ohio and Wabash Rivers, 
the whole southern part of the state south of the mouth of the 
Illinois River was solidly Democratic. In addition the Demo- 
crats carried the greater part of the Military Tract, a tier of 
counties adjoining Sangamon on the east and south, and the 
district along the route of the Illinois and Michigan Canal. The 
Whij; strength lay principally in the districts adjoining 
Indiana, in Sangamon and adjoining counties, and in the 
extreme northwestern part of the state. 

As the campaign drew to a close, enthusiasm grew beyond 
reasonable bounds. Both sides threw away whatever common 
sense arguments they had prepared; charges of contemplated 
election frauds were freely made on each side ; the Van Buren 
administration was branded with maladministration ; the private 
lives of many prominent state politicians were carefully 
scrutinized and exposed to ridicule by hostile editors, who were 
adepts in such kinds of attacks. The candidates for electors in 
particular canvassed the state with as much earnestness and 
enthusiasm as if they were seeking the most important state 
offices ; 29 and the last issues of the papers of each party warned 
the reader of the most diabolical plots to "thwart the sovereign 
will of the people ; ' ' and prophesied that the most dreadful 
disasters would befall the country in case the candidates of the 
opposing party should be elected. 

The Van Buren electoral ticket was successful, but only by 
a small majority of two thousand out of a total vote little short 
of one hundred thousand. 30 This large vote, which was almost 

29 The Democratic electors in 1840 were: Adam W. Snyder, J. P. 
Walker, John A. McClernand, John W. Eldridge and James H. Ralston. 

The Whig electors were : Samuel D. Marshall, Edwin B. Webb, Abra- 
ham Lincoln, Cyrus Walker and Buckner S. Morris. 

30 Total vote cast was 93,514; number of votes cast for Van Buren 
electors, 47,631 ; number of votes cast for Harrison electors, 45.574. 

' Xotf.. Tn these totals each party is credited with the vote of its 
highest elector.) MSS. Election Returns. (Secretary of State's Office, 
Springfield, Illinois.) 



78 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [78 

three times as great as that cast for the presidential election in 
1836, ten per cent greater than the entire vote cast for governor 
in 1842, and only some ten per cent less than the total vote 
for presidential electors in 1844, is evidence of the enthusiasm 
of the campaign, and the successful efforts of both organizations 
in bringing to the polls the full party vote. 31 

An examination of the few election schedules now intact 
indicates the strength of the defection from the earlier Jack- 
sonian ranks due to various causes, particularly to the unpopu- 
larity of Van Bur en and his administration. 32 This loss, 
however, was more than offset by the heavy Democratic vote 
polled in the section in which the foreign elements had settled, 
and along the line of the Illinois and Michigan Canal. On the 
other hand, the Whigs received the unanimous support of the 
Mormons who had but recently come into the state from 
Missouri, with this exception, that they substituted the name of 
James H. Ralston, Democratic electoral candidate, for that of 
the Whig candidate, Abraham Lincoln. To this they were 
instigated, it was charged at the time, by Stephen A. Douglas. 33 
Both before and after the election, charges of fraud were 
repeatedly made against both parties, particularly against the 
Whigs, who were charged with importing voters from Missouri, 
Iowa, Indiana, and Kentucky, but on account of the general 

31 Despite the loss of the state to Van Buren, Illinois Whigs rejoiced 
exceedingly in national victory. Henry Eddy, who was conservative to 
a marked degree, gave way to his feelings thus : "Glory enough for one 
day, or one year, or ten years. The spoilers are driven from the capital, 
and honest public servants will be installed on the 4th day of March, next. 
Never despair of the republic after this. The people, though slow to 
wrath, are terrible when aroused by 12 years maladministration." H. Eddy 
to J. Raum, November 9, 1840 (Raum MSS.) 

32 Among other prominent men in Springfield the following voted for 
Harrison : William L. May, (Former Democratic Congressman) ; Enoch 
Moore, (Private secretary to Governor Ford) ; Ninina W. Edwards, (A 
prominent Jackson man in 1834) ; A. P. Field, (A typical "whole hog" 
Jackson man in 1824); Thomas C. Browne, (Jackson supporter in 1824). 
MSS. Election schedules. (Sangamon County Court House.) 

MSS. Election Schedules in the following counties bear out this con- 
clusion : Fayette, Coles, Macoupin, Edwards. 

33 For further information about the Mormons' support of the Whig 
ticket, see Greene and Thompson, Governors' Letter-Books, II., lxxx, 
passim. State Register, November 27, 30, 1840. 



79] BARRI80N and tyi.i.i; <9 

bs of the Democratic ticket in the state, these charges wean 

never pushed, and the Whigs on their part, not haying the 
machinery of government, were able to do nothing more than 
to charge unofficially that they had been defeated by unfair 
methods. 

The real beginning of the straggle over the foreign vote 
in Illinois was in the gubernatorial election of 1838. The term 
foreign, as used at the time, had a double meaning, ami as a 
result confusion has arisen. To many it simply meant citizens 
of other states who had not resided within the state the neces- 
sary six months, which, by the constitution of 1818, gave them 
a right to vote. To others the word foreign applied exclusively 
to all persons not born within the jurisdiction of the United 
States. According to the general practice members of either 
class voted at all elections after having lived the prescribed 
half-year within the borders of the state. The Democrats had 
elected Carlin governor in 1838, but only by a very small 
majority, and the charge was freely made by the Whigs that 
his election had been made possible by the vote of the canal 
laborers. In this case the foreigners were in the main citizens 
of other states who had not acquired franchise in Illinois by 
the proper length of residence. 35 

The other and more important aspect of the foreign vote 
entered into the election of 1840. By this time it w r as estimated 
that at least ten thousand voters of European birth claimed 
Illinois as their homes. 36 There were those who contended that 
the residence requirement for voting as laid down by the consti- 
tution of 1818, was meant to apply only to citizens of other 
states, and with this interpretation granted, a great number of 
foreigners of legal age would have been denied franchise. 
Despite their denials, the Whigs as a party were inclined to 
look with disfavor upon foreigners voting, not because they 
were more of a native American party than were the Democrats, 

Zi State Register, November 13, 17, 1840. 

3 *Eastern papers took notice of the canal laborers voting the Demo- 
cratic ticket in 1838 and 1839. Ignoring the real contentions in the case 
the State Register took occasion to say. "This is the old leaven of 
Federalism, drawing distinction between the 'educated' dandies travelling 
for 'recreation' and the hard working men in the 'canal ditches of 
Illinois.' The dandies are 'for Clay'; well so be it." Issue of October 
19, 1839. 

rd, History of Illinois, 215. 



80 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [80 

but because it was evident that a large part of the foreign vote 
was Democratic. Hence a test case which was brought up in 
the circuit court of Jo Daviess County, in 1839, gave a pre- 
cedent for excluding from the franchise all who were not citizens 
of one of the American states. A little later the case was 
appealed by interested Democrats to the State Supreme Court, 
and placed upon the calendar for the June term, 1840. 

Beginning at this stage of the procedure the political aspect 
of the case became more and more prominent. All the judges 
of the State Supreme Court were Whig except T. W. Smith, 
and even his Democratic orthodoxy was questioned by the party 
leaders. Professing to believe that the decision would be given 
on a strict party vote, Douglas, who was the leading attorney 
for the Democrats, succeeded in getting the case continued to 
the December term, 1840, and thus postponed final decision until 
after the August and November elections. 37 

Another political controversy, one that had considerable 
effect upon the election of 1840, was that occasioned by the 
attempt of the state administration, which was Democratic, to 
oust A. P. Field, who was a bitter Whig partizan, from the 
office of secretary of state. In 1829, Governor Edwards had 
appointed Field to the office he now held, and he continued in 
office without re-appointment through the following two admin- 
istrations and into that of Governor Carlin. With Carlin's 
election as Governor, he began an agitation to replace Field with 
a Democrat. Accordingly, the governor appointed John A. 
McClernand to the office, sent his name to the senate for ratifica- 
tion, but that body resolved by a vote of twenty-two to seventeen 
that the nomination be "not advised and consented to." 88 
Toward the close of the session Carlin sent in a second nomina- 
tion. Many of the senators, among whom were prominent 
Democrats, declared that this second nomination "under the 
circumstances was an indignity offered to the Senate." The 
nomination was rejected by the decisive vote of twenty- two to 
fourteen. Afterward the governor sent in a protest against the 
course of the Senate and requested that the same might be spread 
upon the journal. This request the senate refused, but allowed 

37 Spaggins v. Houghton. For reasons for continuing the case until 
the December term see Illinois Reports, III., 211 ff. For final decision see 
Ibid. 377 ff. 

38 Senate Journal, p. 151 ff. 



si II LBRDSON \m> TTLEB 81 

him to withdraw his protest.* 8 After- the General Assembly 
adjourned, the governor took advantage of the situation and 

appointed Met demand secretary of state ad interim, but Field 

refused to give up the ofliee. Then followed a heated legal 
contest in which the State Supreme Court sustained Field. This 
victory was gained, however, at considerable expense to the 
Whig party. The court was under suspicion, and its decision 
for the Whi<j: claimant seemed to the majority of Democrats 
conclusive proof of the court's partiality and partisanship. 40 

At the special session of the General Assembly 1839-40, the 
Democrats made another attempt to oust Field by limiting and 
defining the length of term to which a secretary of state might 
be appointed, but the measure failed of passage by a strict party 
vote. A few days later Governor Carlin sent to the senate the 
name of Stephen A. Douglas for secretary of state, but this 
nomination was rejected by a vote of twenty-two to eighteen 
and at the same time the governor was censured for assuming 
that he had the right to appoint a secretary as long as the office 
was already filled. This censure, although made from the stand- 
point of political expediency, expressed a real line of difference 
between the Whigs and Democrats. The former claimed that as 
long as there was no vacancy in the office of secretary of state, 
no new appointment could be legally made. The Democrats, 
on their part, contended that as the secretary was merely an 
attachee of the governor's office, and in many respects his right 
hand man, it was eminently proper that each new state executive 
should be allowed to choose whom he would intrust with the 
affairs of his office. From the standpoint of political theories 
and the constitution, the Democrats argued that the Whig inter- 
pretation virtually made life officers, while the Whigs argued 
that the secretary of state had been intended by the framers of 
the Constitution to be a check on the governor's administrative 
acts, and not to be merely his confidential clerk and irrespon- 
sible tool. 41 

3Q Sangamo Journal, March 9, 1839; Ford, History of Illinois, 213. 

40 The case had been decided against Field in the circuit court pre- 
sided over by a zealous Democrat, Sidney Breese . Field expected Breese 
to hand down an adverse decision, and was prepared to appeal the case 
to the supreme court. See A. P. Field to H. Eddy, May 26, 1839. 
(Eddy MSS.) 

41 Ford, History of Illinois, 213. The Missouri Republican went to 
the extreme, declaring: "It no doubt would be very convenient in these 



82 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [82 

The contest over the secretaryship had an important bear- 
ing on the election of 1840. Leaving aside the merits of the 
case, it was the poorest kind of a policy for the Whigs to con- 
tend that an appointive officer held office during his own 
pleasure, for in so doing they were running counter to the 
basic political principles of the great majority of the people in 
the Middle West. Field was in derision called King Alexander I, 
and the Democratic newspapers using as a hypothesis the Whig 
contention, that Field could not be ousted, built up the most 
absurd arguments to show that the opposition favored removing 
the choice of public officers from the hands of the people, and 
persuaded many to believe them. The Whigs, on the other 
hand, could advance nothing but technical arguments to support 
their contention, and, as was to be expected, arguments of such 
a nature fell to the ground. Everything considered, it appears 
that the Whigs were handicapped by Field, by their hostility 
to foreigners, and finally by the State Supreme Court, for 
neither Field nor the court was popular. Moreover, the Whigs 
as a party were opposed to the foreign vote, and, despite their 
professions to the contrary, this opposition was generally known 
to the foreigners and their friends. 

On account of deplorable financial conditions due to the 
collapse of the internal improvement scheme, and to the suspen- 
sion of specie payment by the state banks, the newly elected 
General Assembly was called together in special session, 42 the 
meeting taking place two weeks before the regular session should 
convene pursuant to the constitution, on the first Monday in 
December, 1840. The house organized by electing William 
Lee Davis Ewing speaker over Abraham Lincoln, by a strict 
party vote. 43 In the senate the Democrats were in the majority 
by almost two to one, and that body, like the house, organized 

days to Loco foco peculation and fraud for a Governor, who wishes to 
CHEAT a State, or ROB her treasury, to have at his back a secretary 
who would do just as he might be bid." State Register, September 7, 1839. 

42 The special session met November 23, and adjourned December 5. 
This seems to have been the only time in Illinois history when a special 
session preceded a regular session of the General Assembly. It is held 
in some quarters at the present time that such could not be legally done 
under the Constitution of 1870. There is no evidence at hand to show that 
there was any doubt as to the legality of such an act in 1840. 

* 3 Ewing, 46 (including Lincoln's vote) ; Lincoln, 36 (including Ewing's 
vote) ; nine members not present (5 Democrats, 4 Whigs). 



!i UUUtON AND m i i: 83 

on party lines." The two weeks' special session \v;is taken up 
in devising ways to minimize the evils resulting from the suspen- 
sion of specie payments am! from a depreciated bank currency. 
In spite of the fact t hat a Democratic legislature had chartered 

the two state banks. 1, the State Hank of Illinois, ami the Bank 
of Illinois, that party now turned its fury upon these institu- 
tions, not because it, as a party, was opposed to state hanks in 
general, but rather because it claimed, and with some justice, 
that from the beginning both banks had been administered by 
Whig officials to the detriment of the Democratic party as an 
organisation, and to its members as individuals. A law of 
1839-40 had authorized the suspension of specie payment until 
the adjournment of the next session of the General Assembly, 
provided no legislation was enacted upon the matter during that 
session ; and in an attempt to continue a legalized suspension 
into the year 1841 the Whig members of both houses concerted 
to prevent sine die adjournment of the special session. In order 
to carry out their designs many of both houses not only absented 
themselves during the last day of the session in the hope that 
adjournment would be prevented by lack of a quorum, but also 
a few of the senators went to the extreme of threatening the 
sergeant-of-arms of the senate w r ith bodily injury should he 
attempt to serve warrants in an effort to compel attendance. 46 

44 Democratic, 26; old members, 12; new members, 14; Whig, 14; old 
members, 9; new members, 5. 

45 "At the last session of the Legislature of this State, the proposition 
to create the present bank was brought forward by the friends of the 
administration. . . This favor [government deposits] it is thought our 
State has some reason to expect ; she has always been foremost in sustain- 
ing the measures of the administration." N. L. May to L. Woodbury, 
July 20, 1835 (Committee Reports) (U. S.), 1836-37, III., 608. See also 
O/110 News (Hillsborough, Ohio), September 13, 1839; State Register, 
September 14, 1839. 

46 Joseph Gillespie in his Recollections says that Lincoln and others 
leaped from a window in order to break a quorum in the house. Mr. 
Gillespie is supported in his statement by the editor of the State Register, 
(See issue of December 11, 1840) who states emphatically that he was an 
eye witness of the occurrence. According to the House Journal, Mr. 
Lincoln was present and voting on the question of adjournment. The 
editor referred to above makes a similar statement. One wonders why 
Mr. Lincoln leaped after voting. If he leaped before voting did the 
house clerk with or without the knowledge of the speaker make the 



84 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [84 

Of the legislation enacted during the regular session of the 
General Assembly which convened December 7, 1840, two acts 
deserve special mention on account of their political significance. 
Despite the hostile attitude of the Democrats as a party toward 
the state banks, a sufficient number of members of that party 
united with the Whigs to give a new lease of life to those institu- 
tions, by allowing them to continue the suspension of specie 
payments, to issue notes of small denomination, and to charge 
an interest rate of nine per cent on notes of a certain nature. 47 

The Democrats very generally believed that the supreme 
court, which was composed of three Whigs and one Democrat, 
was partisan in its decisions, and because of this belief they 
determined to change the political complexion of that tribunal 
by appointing a sufficient number of new judges to make it 
Democratic. The enacting of such legislation was prolific of the 
most bitter political quarrels. Mr. McClernand, of the house, 
declared emphatically that the court had been prevented from 
giving a decision hostile to the foreign vote at the previous June 
term only by a technicality, but this charge was denied by all 
the judges. In addition, he produced evidence of a more or 
less questionable character to prove that the decision of the 
court sustaining Field in his refusal to give up the secretary's 
office was made upon the basis of political expediency. Other 
Democrats made long and acrimonious speeches in which the 
Whig party in general and the Whig members of the Supreme 
Court in particular were the object of bitter attack. It must 
not be thought, however, that the Whigs were either intimidated 
or convinced of their error in opposing a reform of the judiciary. 

journal show that he was present? These and many other questions arise 
in connection with the episode and deserve attention at the hands of local 
historians. See State Register, December n, 18, 25, (issued December 23 
but bearing the date 25); House Journal, 1840-1, p. 80; Senate Journal, 
1840-1, pp. 47-8; Ford, History of Illinois, 226; Moses, Illinois Historical 
and Statistical, I., 442. On Sunday, December 6, the day after the incident 
referred to, Dr. William Fithian, who was at the time a member of the 
General Assembly and an eye witness, wrote to a friend at Danville, giving 
minutely a description of the scenes enacted in the two houses, but he 
said nothing about Lincoln jumping from the window in an attempt to 
break a quorum. See W. Fithian to A. Williams, December 6, 1840. 
(Williams-Woodbury MSS.) 

47 Laws of Illinois, 1840- 1, p. 40 ff. For protest by certain Democrats 
against its passage see House Journal, 1840-1, p. 538 ff. 



85] II \KhMSO\ AND TYI.I B 85 

Led in the house by Lincoln, Hardin, Archer, Gillespie, and 
Webb, and in the senate by Baker, Churchill, Cullom, and 
Davidson, the Struggle was carried on against an uncompromis- 
ing majority; and a study of the speeches delivered by the 
leaders of each party, and reported verbatim in the Springfield 
newspapers, leaves the impression that open hostilities were 
narrowly avoided. 4S 

The judiciary reform bill, 49 which provided for the abolition 
of the office of circuit judge, and for the election of five addi- 
tional supreme judges by the General Asembly, passed by a 
large majority in the senate, and by a vote of 45 to 43 in the 
house. Every Whig present voted against its passage, while 
Gatewood, Slocum and Warren of the senate, and Able, Black- 
man, Dougherty, and Hicks of the house, all Democrats, voted 
with the Whigs. 50 The Council of Revision, which was composed 
of the governor, and justices of the Supreme Court, refused its 
assent to the bill, 51 but the dominant party, not to be thwarted 
in its desires by the very body that it was trying to reform, 
passed the bill over the veto, Mr. Lincoln and thirty-four other 
members of the house entering upon the Journal their protest 
against its passage. 52 

48 There are indications that this contest over the judiciary gave 
opportunity for many members of the General Assembly to express their 
contempt for political opponents. The lie was repeatedly given, and an 
invitation to settle differences according to the code of honor would have 
occasioned no surprise, in fact it seems to have been expected in some 
quarters. See Sangamo Journal, State Register, Alton Telegraph, Chicago 
Democrat, and Quincy Whig for months of December, 1840, and January, 
1841. 

49 Called "puppy court" bill in derision. See Illinois Republican, 
February 27, 1841. 

^Senate Journal, 1840-1, p. 148 ff. ; House Journal, 1840-1, p. 311. 

"For opinions of the judges on the constitutionality of the bill, see 
Senate Journal, 1840-1, pp. 257-72. Governor Carlin's opinion is not given. 

"According to the constitution of 1818, a majority vote of the entire 
number of members elected to each house was necessary to pass a bill 
over the veto of the Council of Revision. Such a majority in the house 
was 46. The bill had previously passed by a vote of 45 to 43, but in the 
vote to pass the bill over the veto of the council Mr. Busey of Champaign, 
who had not voted when the bill was passed the first time, voted in the 
affirmative. See House Journal, 1840-1, pp. 266, 311. In Illinois Repub- 
lican, February 27, 1841, the statement is made that Mr. Busey was prom- 



86 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [86 

On November 30, 1840, Governor Carlin nominated Stephen 
A. Douglas to be secretary of state, and asked the senate to 
confirm the nomination, which was done, all the Whigs voting 
in the negative. 03 Although Mr. Field's intentions regarding a 
judicial contest for the office have been variously interpreted, 
it would seem that he did not give up hopes of being able to be 
reinstated by the Supreme Court, until it became evident that 
that body would be reorganized, for it was not until January 27, 
1841, nearly two months after the nomination of his successor 
had been confirmed by the senate, and after it was clear to all 
that the political complexion of the judiciary would be changed, 
that he formally handed his resignation to the governor. 54 This 

ised the clerkship of Champaign County for his affirmative vote on the 
judiciary bill. In the campaign for the presidential nomination in 1912, 
Mr. Roosevelt's Columbus (Ohio) address was contrasted with the above 
protest in order to show that he was out of harmony with Mr. Lincoln's 
attitude toward the sacredness of the judiciary. Considering the circum- 
stances surrounding the protest there is nothing to indicate that it was 
anything more than an attempt on the part of the Whigs to put them- 
selves decisively on record against a measure that they thought would 
prove unpopular with the people. See House Journal, 1840-1, p. 540 (last 
paragraph). There seems to be no doubt that the Whigs were obstruc- 
tionists during the entire session. Their victory in the nation in 1840 
caused the party to have an exalted opinion of itself. See W. Fithian to 
A. Williams, December 6, 1840. (Williams-Woodbury MSS.), Sangamo 
Journal, January 29, 1841. Even before the passage of the Judiciary Bill 
a Democratic Caucus seems to have chosen the five new judges required 
by the contemplated bill. See W. Fithian to A. Williams, February 14, 
1841. (Williams-Woodbury MSS.) 

53 Senate Journal, 1840-1, p. 31. 

54 Field's resignation was addressed to Governor Carlin, and reads as 
follows : 

"Sir : — I take this occasion to tender to you my resignation as Secre- 
tary of State. This step is taken, on my part, with the sole view of 
placing my conduct in a proper light. It has been said since the confirma- 
tion of Mr. Douglas's nomination, that I would still contend for my right 
to the office. I assure you sir, such a thought never entered my mind, and 
I take great pleasure in saying, that so far as your conduct is concerned, 
I left the office satisfied with your conduct toward me." Sangamo Journal, 
January 29, 1841 ; State Register, February 5, 1841. State Senator Gate- 
wood sent the above resignation to the governor with an accompanying 
letter in which the latter was taken to task for his repeated attempts to 
assert the right to appoint and remove officers without the consent of the 



Harrison AND TYLBR N< 

ioquieacenoe in superior Force and aumben, and perhaps in 
justice, came too late, however, to lie of any political advantage 
to the Whigs. Had Field been willing to allow his successor to 

be Darned two years before, it is not without the range of prob- 
ability thai the Whigs could have overcome the two thousand 
odd majority against them in 1840, for his deliberate attempts 

to defeat the will of the executive were Unpopular." 

In many respects the year 1840 was the lii^li tide in the life 
of the Illinois Whigs. It is true that they were beaten in both 
the August and November elections, but under normal circum- 
stances they would have won the latter and perhaps the former. 
The presence of the foreign vote and the unpopularity of Field's 
claim to be a perpetual state officer more than offset the strength 
gained by a display of unparalleled enthusiasm for a distinctly 
rn candidate, who made a particularly strong appeal to 
tlie voters of Illinois. Especially was this true because of the 
fact that his opponent was Van Buren. The latter was never 
popular in Illinois, and but for good party discipline in the 
Democratic ranks his vote would have been smaller than it was. 
It would appear that the Whigs lost their greatest opportunity 
to put Illinois in the Whig ranks when they failed to carry the 
November election. Never again was so much enthusiasm dis- 
played in any one campaign, not even when Clay himself was 
the candidate. 

The presidential campaign of 1840 was the high water 
mark in the history of the Illinois Whigs. Beginning with the 
first Whig state convention in 1839 and extending over a period 
of almost a year to the November election of 1840, they displayed 
an enthusiasm unequalled during any other period of their 
history. In spite of this enthusiasm, however, and in spite of 
the marked ability of their leaders, they lost the state to the 
Democrats by a small majority. This loss w r as caused largely by 
the insistence of the Whig leaders that Alexander P. Field, 
secretary of state, could not be ousted by the governor, and by 

senate. As soon as Field resigned his friends united in asking President- 
elect Harrison to appoint him to any office he (Field) might desire. A. P. 
Field to H. Eddy, January 18, 1841. (Eddy MSS.) 

dthough such a conclusion can never be more than speculative and 
in this particular case may be erroneous, it was the opinion of acute Whig 
observers that Field's persistent claim for place in an administration with 
which he was out of harmony was detrimental to the party's interest. 



88 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [88 

widespread feeling that they were opposed to the foreign vote. 
The views of the Whigs in both cases were generally unpopular 
among the voters. 

Neither party was satisfied with the outcome of the election. 
The Whigs professed to believe that the Democrats had carried 
the state by fraud, while the Democrats charged the Whigs with 
having carried the nation by unscrupulous misrepresentation 
of the issues involved. Such was the feeling among the leaders 
when the special session of the General Assembly convened in 
November, 1840. The Whigs were in the minority, and follow- 
ing the practices of the preceding session, they obstructed 
Democratic legislation whenever possible. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Sectionalism and State Issues. 
1841-1845. 

During the half decade ending with the year 1845, the 
Attention of the people was distracted from matters purely 
political by the pressure of local issues that had arisen during 
the late thirties. 1 The failure of the internal improvements 
scheme, with the accompanying debt; the lack of banking 
facilities and an adequate medium of exchange; the efforts of 
the people in the southern counties to prevent the completion 
of the Illinois-Michigan Canal with state funds; and social dis- 
orders, particularly in Hancock and adjoining counties, all com- 
bined to minimize interest in national politics. These local 
issues brought prominently to the front sectionalism, which 
during the previous decade had been lost in the hysteria caused 
by the anticipation of the rapid economic development of the 
state. Even in the excitement of the campaign of 1844, the 
people were primarily interested in those national issues which 
were most directly connected with their own particular problems. 

As soon as it became evident that the finances of the state 
were in disorder each party hastened to disclaim any respon- 
sibility for such a state of affairs. 2 Although the Whigs had 
never had a majority in any session of the General Assembly, 
they were charged by the Democrats with being responsible for 
the evils that had overtaken the state ; 3 and the justification for 

1 This statement is based upon an examination of newspapers both 
Democratic and Whig. Papers printed in the southern parts of the state 
gave a large amount of space to the public debt, those in the northern 
parts to the canal, and those in the central and western parts to the 
Mormon question. In all parts of the state a popular subject for dis- 
cussion was repudiation. 

2 For specific claims, see Quincy Argus, Alton Telegraph, Sangamo 
Journal, and State Register, for the months of August, September, and 
October, 1839. 

3 In the sessions of 1834-5 an d 1836-7, a coalition of Whigs and anti- 
Van Buren Democrats in the senate outnumbered the Democrats. 

89 



90 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [90 

such a charge lay in the fact that the Whig press, during the 
time when internal improvements and state banking seemed 
likely to succeed, claimed that the Whig party had fathered 
the schemes, and that it was entitled to credit for their initia- 
tion and development. Such claims had been based primarily 
upon the desire of the Whigs to gain political support for their 
activity in securing what a great majority of the people wanted. 
Another reason for such a claim was the ignorance on the part 
of the press as to the political affiliation of the members of the 
General Assemblies that had authorized internal improvements 
and state banking. Members whose political predilections were 
uncertain were claimed or rejected by either party depending on 
whether or not they were on the popular side of legislation. 4 
By 1842, the Democrats possessed a clear majority in each 
house of the General Assembly, and to them as a party the 
people rightfully looked for legislation that would bring relief 
to the burdened state. In this they were handicapped by divi- 
sion in their own ranks. 5 Many of the members of that party 
had no sympathy with any plan whereby the state should pledge 
another dollar for completing the canal, nor were they prepared 
to agree to tax the people in order that the interest on the public 
debt might be paid. To a less degree the Whigs were divided 
over the same issues. To say the least they were obstructionists, 
and with the assistance of discontented Democrats they presented 
a formidable opposition to any legislation that might increase 
the popularity of the Democratic party. Both parties disclaimed 
any intention to support the principle of repudiation, yet 
neither would agree to attempt to tax the people sufficiently to 
pay even the interest on the public debt. 6 Leaders of all shades 

4 See Senate Journal, 1837, p. 97; Sangamo Journal, March 23, Sep- 
tember 2j, December 17, 1839; State Register, September 14, 21, 1839; 
Ohio News, September 13, 1839; T. C. Browne to H. Eddy, February 
I, 1838. (Eddy MSS.) 

5 The Democrats were divided into two large groups, the conserva- 
tives and radicals. The people in the extreme southern part of the state 
were opposed very generally to any proposition that would provide for 
the interest on the state debt by taxation. Those in the military tract 
were inclined in the same direction. See Ford, History of Illinois, 305 ff. ; 
Alton Telegraph, January 27, February 10, 1844; State Register, and 
Times for December, 1843, and January, 1844. 

6 Such an attitude is illustrated by the convention that nominated 
Snyder for governor. See Niles' Register, LXIL, 274; State Register, 
December 17, 1841. 



!H ih >N.\i. ism ami STATE ISSUES 91 

of political belief professed to regard the state hanks with 
suspicion and contempt, ye1 none of them could deny that these 
institutions had Buffered irreparable damage from having been 

drawn into party politics. Under such circumstances it is sur- 
prising that the General Assembly legislated as well as it did. 
Many of its members followed a policy of sacrificing the interests 
of the whole state for the benefit of a section, while others 
embraced the opportunity of catering to a narrow sectional 
feeling in order to increase their own political prestige. 

The issues upon which the gubernatorial campaign of 1842 
were joined were colorless, to say the least. 7 Neither party had 
a program, and the tocsin of battle was scarcely more than a 
reverberation from the clash of 1840. 8 The Democrats, strictly 
orthodox, held a convention and chose Adam W. Snyder of 
St. Clair County, as their standard bearer. 9 A majority of the 
Whigs appear to have desired a nominating convention, and 
one was actually called, but feeling it unwise to allow the clash- 
ing elements from the northern and southern parts of the state 
to meet and air their grievances to the delight of the Democrats, 
Lincoln, Davidson, Thornton and other prospective candidates 
withdrew their claims, leaving the field to ex-Governor Duncan, 
who was chosen by common consent as the Whig candidate for 
governor. 10 In May, 1842, Snyder died, and a little later 

7 According to a newspaper report Duncan outlined his policies to a 
committee of Coles County citizens as folllows : (i) opposed to sale of 
state bonds to complete the canal; (2) took a stand against the issuance 
of bonds for any purpose; (3) opposed the payment of interest on public 
debt by direct taxation ; (4) declared for completion of canal, and gave 
it as his opinion that it ought to be completed by the National govern- 
ment. See Illinois Republican, March 26, 1842. 

8 Ford, History of Illinois, 291. The only additional issue of any 
note was Tylerism. On the whole the questions discussed in the cam- 
paign of 1840 were raised to the exclusion of all others, with the excep- 
tion that the abuse heaped upon Harrison two years before was omitted. 

9 Snyder, Adam W. Snyder in Illinois History, 384-5; State Register, 
December 17, 1841. 

10 For information concerning the call for a convention and the dis- 
cussion of the various candidates, see Illinois Republican, October 30, 
November 27, 1841, March 26, May 7, 1842; Sangamo Journal, May 21, 
June 11, August 1, October 22, December 3, 1841 ; Alton Telegraph, 
October and November, 1841, May 13. 1843; W. H. Davidson to H. Eddy, 
June 30, 1841 ; O. H. Browning to H. Eddy, November 8, 1841, (Eddy 

V.) ; Thompson, op. cit. 177 ft. 



92 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [92 

Thomas Ford of Ogle County, who was a half-brother of George 
Forquer, a close friend of Governor Edwards, and at the time 
of his nomination a judge of the State Supreme Court, was 
chosen in his stead. 11 Both candidates professed to believe 
that provision ought to be made for paying the state debt, but 
neither did nor could make any definite promise of procedure 
in case of election. In the southern parts of the state Ford 
was accused of wishing to cede to Wisconsin the territory lying 
in the fourteen northernmost counties of Illinois ; in the northern 
part the Whigs kept alive a story to the effect that he opposed 
the completion of the Illinois-Michigan Canal. 1 - Duncan was 
an old campaigner, never having lost a political battle up to 
this time. It must be said, however, that despite his sterling 
qualities, he was less popular than he had been before he became 
governor in 1834. In addition there was the unfounded report 
that he was indirectly responsible for certain defalcations that 
a member of his family had made. 13 The Mormons declared 
for Snyder, and afterwards for Ford. This declaration the 
Whigs attempted to use as capital for securing the anti-Mormon 
vote. 14 The election was a Democratic victory; Ford was 
elected by a majority of only a little less than eight thousand, 
and the General Assembly was safely Democratic. 

Carlin's administration as governor had been both unpopular 
and weak. He had taken office just as the internal improve- 
ments and banking bubbles were breaking. Had he been a 
popular leader results might have been different. The party 
was divided over both local and national issues; young and 
enthusiastic partisans like Douglas, Trumbull, McClernand, and 
William "Jeff" Gate wood had little regard for precedents and 
past performances. In addition the governor had been compelled 
to carry on a long and acrimonious struggle with the senate over 
the appointment of a secretary of state. 15 The legislative branch 
of government, while it included in its ranks men of ability 
and statesmanlike qualities, had spent a great part of its time in 

11 State Register, June 10, 1842. 

12 Greene and Thompson, Governors' Letter-Books, II., xxxvi. 

13 Duncan's brother-in-law, William J. Linn, defaulted to the United 
States for a considerable sum of money. Duncan was his bondsman and 
in settling with the government he lost almost all his large fortune. 

14 See Illinois Republican, April 2, 1842. 

15 See ante 80 ff. for history of the struggle. 



98] SE< rioxAi.isM and BTATI D3S1 93 

jockeying for position in future political races. Throughout 
the entire four years of Carlin'a administration scarcely a tangle 
enactment had looked forward to an amelioration of conditions. 

Instead of making an attempt to put a stop to useless expendi- 
tures, and to provide for the payment of interest on tie- state 
debt by some sort of taxation, the members of the General 
Assembly had openly countenanced a policy of borrowing still 
larger sums, the greater part of which had gone to pay interest. 
Accordingly the public debt had mounted higher and higher until 
the annual interest charges exceeded a half-million, while the 
ordinary annual expenses of conducting the state government 
exceeded the income from taxation by something like forty 
thousand dollars. 16 The banks, which had been established with 
the idea of furnishing a sound and adequate medium of ex- 
change, were in a precarious condition. 17 Their bills were 
worth less than face value and were unacceptable to tax col- 
lectors; 18 and there was scarcely a half -million dollars of good 
money in the hands of the people. 19 

The Thirteenth General Assembly met December 5, 1842. 
If all the members of the senate, several of whom were subse- 
quently unseated, be counted, thirty-two were Democrats and 
fourteen Whigs. 20 Of the one hundred and twenty-one members 
of the House, the Democrats numbered eighty-four, the Whigs 

16 The state debt in December, 1842, is given by the House Finance 
Committee as $12,328,096.69, to which should be added the amount due 
the United States government and the amount of state bonds held by 
the two state banks, making in all $15,471,895.69. See also London Times, 
December 8. 1842; Senate Journal, 1842-3, p. 22-23; House Journal, 1840-1, 
p. 20 ff., 1842-3. p. 16 ff. ; Moses, Illinois Historical and Statistical, I., 
52-3; Greene and Thompson, Governors' iMter-Books, II., liii. 

17 After suspension of specie payments soon after they opened their 
doors, the banks finally suspended operation in 1842. Greene and Thomp- 
son, Governors' Letter-Books, II., xliii ; Dowrie, Development of Banking 
in Illinois, 104 passim. 

ls Senate Journal, 1842-3, p. 19; N ties' Register, LXIII., 67, 165. 

19 House Journal, 1842-3, p. 44. 

20 The apportionment act of 1841 provided for forty-one senators and 
one hundred and twenty-one representatives. Altogether as many as 
forty-six senators took part at some time during the session. Four were 
unseated, one of whom was re-elected during the session to fill an 
unexpired term of a member who had resigned. 



94 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [94 

thirty-seven. 21 Thus on joint ballot the Whigs were outnum- 
bered more than two to one. As was to be expected, both houses 
were organized on strict party lines. Other than the election 
of a United States senator and various state officers, all of whom 
were Democratic, the General Assembly gave comparatively 
little attention to matters of a purely political nature. The 
messages of both the outgoing and incoming governors laid 
stress upon the necessity of immediate legislation regarding 
the public debt, the state banks, and the canal. In his valedic- 
tory message Carlin made a vicious attack upon the banks, and 
the attack was received with unveiled satisfaction by that 
element of the Democratic party which was determined to 
destroy what it called nests of Whigism. 22 Ford took a con- 
ciliatory attitude. He pointed out the desirability of putting 
both banks into liquidation with the least possible delay, keep- 
ing in mind, however, that those institutions had certain rights 
and privileges which must be respected. Ford was supported 
in his attitude by a majority of his own party. The Whigs 
were inclined not to commit themselves, preferring to await 
developments. They had sectional interests to protect, but what 
was far more important to them as a party, they were in a 
position to throw their weight where it would count most. 
They hoped that the majority would hopelessly split over a bank 
bill, with the result that they would hold a balance of power. 
The governor himself drew up a bank bill putting the State 
Bank into liquidation. 23 In the house the measure passed by an 
almost unanimous vote, but four members, all Democrats, voting 

2a If a contemporary newspaper account can be relied upon, the 
General Assembly contained 113 farmers, 18 lawyers, 8 mechanics, 6 
physicians and 2 clergymen. The same source distributes their nativity 
as follows: Kentucky 32, Virginia 25, New York 13, Tennessee 11, 
Massachusetts 10, Pennsylvania 10, North Carolina 10, South Carolina 8, 
Ohio 6, Maryland 5, New Jersey 5, Connecticut 5, Georgia 3, Maine 3, 
New Hampshire 3, Indiana 3, Illinois 3, Missouri 2, Alabama 1, England 
2, Ireland 2, Germany 2. — Alton Telegraph, January 28, 1843. 

22 It is safe to say that a majority of the officers and directors of 
both banks were Whig. It was charged, however, and there seems to be 
some truth in the charge, that the banks supported Ford in 1842. See 
Alton Telegraph, April 1, 1843. Reports of Committee (U. S.), 1836-37, 
III., 610 passim. 

23 Ford, History of Illinois, 303. 



PIONALffiH \ni> BTAT1 96 

in the negative.* During the twelve days' Interval between 
the passage of the bill by the house and a vote upon it in tin* 
senate, its opponents were active both within and without tin- 
senate chamber. Lyman Trumbull became BO active in his oppo- 
sition that the governor subsequently removed him from the 
office of secretary of state. Despite the efforts of the anti-bank 

Democrats, the hank hill, which was a compromise measure, 
nate by a vote of twenty-five to thirteen. It was 
I on sectional rather than on political lines.-'' Of the 
affirmative votes ten were Whig and fifteen Democratic, and 
two Whigs only voted in the negative.- The Bank of Illinois 
was likewise authorized to liquidate,- 7 and with the severance 
of the relations between the state and the state banks the public 
debt was automatically reduced more than three million dollars. 
A much larger question, one that involved the banks and a 
great deal besides, was the state debt. Since July 1, 1841, no 
interest had been paid upon it.- 8 The reason for non-payment 
of both principal and interest was based upon neither disinclina- 
tion to pay nor dishonesty. The debt was more than twelve 
million dollars, and the interest only a little less than three- 
quarters of a million a year. Ordinary state revenues did not 
even suffice to pay the ordinary expenses of carrying on the 
state government. A tax adequate to pay the interest charges 
was simply out of the question, not only because the people 

24 Ames of Boone, Bell of Marshall, Brinkley of Hamilton, and Loy 
of Fayette. See House Journal, 1842-3, p. 135, for vote. 

-Those opposing the bank bill were from the counties in the south- 
western part of the state, a few scattered counties in the central part, 
Adams and Hancock in the Military District, and a group in the extreme 
northern part consisting of McHenry, Boone, Kane, and DeKalb. 

28 Henry of Morgan ; and Waters of Pope, Hardin, and Johnson. 
Allowing the banks to liquidate was favored by Whigs, who. however, 
were opposed to having the bank charters repealed in such a way as to 
jeopardize the interests of the creditors and stockholders of the banks. 
George T. M. Davis expressed himself as follows: "But what has justly 
astonished this whole community, is, that Mr. Jonas, a leading Whig in 
the House, should introduce a minority report approving of the repeal 
of the Charter of the Bank." Alton Telegraph, January 28, 1843. 

'-'Laws of Illinois, 1842-3, p. 27 ff. ; State Register, March 24, 1843. 
See also Alton Telegraph, April 1, 1843. 

28 Six months before it was freely predicted that the July interest 
would not be paid. G. Churchill to G. Flagg, January 2, 1841. (Flagg 
MSS.) 



96 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [96 

would not but because they could not have borne it.-' The 
simplest calculation shows that such tax would have been rank 
confiscation. Repudiation was in the air. In many sections it 
was openly countenanced, in others disguised. Newspapers of 
both parties pretended to be horrified at the possibility of repudi- 
ation, but not a single one of them could offer definite plans for 
bringing relief. Positive repudiation, it has often been said, was 
held in check only by the fear of civic disgrace. European and 
eastern papers kept dinning in the ears of the people the dolorous 
results that would come from a declaration of repudiation, but 
they failed to censure the methods used by bond buyers and 
capitalists in getting state bonds at a moiety of their face value. 30 
Yet upon no grounds of common honesty could a declaration of 
repudiation have been justified, and it seems that a majority was 
opposed to such a course despite the fact that the state had 
been swindled out of millions through bad management on the 
part of her own citizens, as well as of supposedly trustworthy 
agents in the East and Europe. 

There was a general feeling among the lawmakers that the 
time was not ripe for increasing state taxes to the point where 
any considerable part of the interest charges could be provided 
for. Leaders of neither party had the courage to advocate 
such a proposition. They contented themselves with declara- 
tions of honesty and good faith, both on their own account and 
on account of the people, but they had nothing to offer the 
creditors in the way of current funds or salable securities. 31 

29 Amount of taxable property in 1841, $69,831,419; state tax thirty 
cents on the hundred dollars. To pay the interest charges alone would 
have required a tax rate of something like one dollar and fifty cents on 
the hundred dollars. See Illinois Reports, 1842-3, (Senate) p. 25. 

30 For typical article see London Times, December 8, 1842. 

31 To draw a line and place on one side all the repudiators and upon 
the other all who opposed repudiation is impossible. Repudiation had a 
variety of meanings depending upon the person using the word. It seems 
safe to say that Ford overdrew matters when he said that he could have 
led a majority of the people to the point where they would have refused 
to pay the state debt. At a Whig convention held at Springfield in 
December, 1842, the following resolution was passed : ''Resolved, That 
justice to all men, and inviolability of public faith, and cardinal principles 
of the Whig party, and this convention, in the name of the Whig party 
of this state, repudiate the doctrine of repudiation." Sangamo Journal, 
December 14, 1842. Alton Telegraph, December 23, 1843. For other press 



SECTIONALISM and BTATE D98UB8 ( .U 

Those most enthusiastic in assuring the Creditors of tin- state 

that they would eventually be paid represented counties on or 
Deer the incompleted canal. These members were not a whit 

honest than those from other sections; they merely realized 
that sonic adequate provision must he made to pay the state 
debt before money for completing the canal could he secured ; 
and in an attempt to gain for their local constituencies the 
advantages arising from a completed canal they opposed repudia- 
tion at every step, and thereby gained for themselves the reputa- 
tion of possessing more civic honesty than their colleagues from 
the southern and eastern counties. In the end nothing came 
of the several attempts to provide for delinquent and current 
interest charges, and the friends of the canal had to content 
themselves for another two years with nothing more substantial 
to offer to the creditors than declarations of honesty and good 
faith. 

By 1842, even the most optimistic friends of the canal were 
convinced that it could not be completed according to original 
plans, hence there was a widespread demand for its completion 
within more modest dimensions. Such a change was not only 
advisable because the canal would be more rapidly finished, but 
it was almost absolutely necessary in order to reduce the amount 
of money to be borrowed from the creditors for its completion. 
The Canal Bill of 1843 provided for turning over the canal and 
its appurtances to the bond holders on condition that they ad- 
vance $1,600,000 for its completion. 32 In the senate, party lines 
seem not to have been drawn ; the vote was strikingly sectional. 
Of the eleven Whig members voting, six supported and five 
opposed the measure ; while of the twenty-nine Democrats 
voting, sixteen supported and thirteen opposed. 33 The principal 
opposition to the bill was by r members from the southern and 
southeastern counties; its support came from Sangamon and 
adjoining counties, and from the counties north and west of 
the Illinois River. It is interesting to note that senators from 
three districts bordering on the Illinois River were opposed to 
the measure ; one was from Morgan, one from Morgan and Scott, 

opinion on the subject, see Quincy Herald, March 3, 1843; Chicago 
Express, December 30. 1843; Alton Telegraph, January 7, 14, February ir, 
1843; Sangamo Journal, May 14, 1841. 

Z2 Laws of Illinois. 1842-3, p. 54 ft. 

33 Senate Journal, 1842-3, p. 383. 



98 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [98 

the third from the district composed of Morgan, Menard, and 
Logan counties. 34 But one senator north and west of the river, 
Ralston, Democrat, of Adams County, voted against the bill. 
In the house similar lines were drawn. The sixty-seven sup- 
porters of the measure were composed of fifty-two Democrats 
and fifteen Whigs; of the thirty-seven in opposition seventeen 
were Whigs and twenty Democrats. 35 Sectional jealousies crop- 
ped out as they had in the senate. The bulk of the opposition 
was from the southern counties, from those lying on and near 
the Indiana line, and from certain sections of the Military Dis- 
trict. Here and there one sees what appears to be a desire in 
certain sections to keep others from surpassing them in economic 
development. 36 The representatives and senators from districts 
situated along the upper and middle valley of the Illinois River 
voted consistently for completing the canal, while those from 
farther down the stream opposed it. The latter had an outlet for 
their surplus products, and seemed to concern themselves little 
with the development of the counties farther to the north. The 
attitude in the extreme southern sections is more easily explained. 
They had never favored a canal, because, so they said, it would 
not only be of no direct benefit to them but it would open up an 
avenue for a flood of tricky Yankees to pour into the state. 37 

34 John Henry (Whig), T. M. Kilpatrick (Whig), and Lewis B. 
Wynne (Democrat). 

35 House Journal, 1842-3, p. 324. 

36 0f the three representatives from Madison County, two voted 
against bill; of the five from Adams County two did not vote and three 
voted against bill; both representatives from Vermilion voted in nega- 
tive; of the four from Sangamon one voted for the bill, one against and 
two did not vote. These four counties perhaps felt the growing strength 
of Chicago more than any other counties of the state. The counties on 
the lower Illinois dreaded to see commerce set in through the canal 
toward Chicago. Vermilion and adjoining counties already felt the 
competition of Chicago. 

37 Almost twenty years before one finds the same attitude regarding 
"Yankees." In a communication to H. Eddy, Governor Edwards says the 
friends of slavery "have been at heart opposed to this Illinois-Michigan 
Canal. Some of them more bold, but not more determined in opposition 
than others, have denounced it as an avenue through which the d-d 
Yankees would pour in upon the state." N. Edwards to H. Eddy, Com- 
munication about August Election, 1828. (Eddy MSS.) Some ten years 
later one finds a similar feeling on the part of members of the General 
Assembly from the southern part of the state. "Mr. Hacker from the 



SECTIONALISM AND BTATE D38XJBS 99 

[ntermingled with t lu* move serious affair of trying to extri- 
eate the itate from her financial difficulties, was another 
reeembling very mncfa a oomedy. The Mormons, upon being 
driven from Missouri, eame across the Mississippi in the winter 

of 1839-40, and settled in Hancock and adjoining count i<\s. ;s 

Owing to their numbers and solidarity their support was sought 
by both political parties. Joseph Smith, the prophet, and his fol- 
lowers were inclined at first to favor the Whigs, and it appears 
that they supported Harrison in 1840. This inclination was only 
natural, for both the administration of the state that had driven 
them out and the national administration that had refused them 
redress were Democratic. In an effort to get redress for wrongs 
suffered in Missouri, they had the active support of Senator 
Young and Representative Stuart, the one a Democrat, the other 
a Whig. 39 When the General Assembly met in the winter of 
1840, the Mormons, through Dr. John C. Bennett, a recent con- 
vert, asked for a charter for their new city Nauvoo. 40 In the 
midst of strife over banks and judiciary the lawmakers found 
time to grant practically every request made of them by the 
Mormons, usually by a unanimous vote. 41 Early in 1841 the 
city government of Nauvoo was organized with Dr. Bennett as 
mayor and Joseph Smith in the body of councillors. Smith had 
scarcely become acquainted with his new surroundings before 
he began a remarkable struggle for his freedom before state and 

select committee to which was referred the petition of sundry citizens 
of the town of Vandalia, praying relief for Clock pedlars. . . Report 
that they have had the subject under consideration, and are of the 
opinion that as the petitioners do not show that any portion of the State 
is suffering for the article of clocks, they can see no reason why the 
prayer of the petitioners should be granted. — Senate Journal, 1835, p. 149. 
The meaning of such a veiled attack is seen clearly when one recalls 
that "Yankees" and "Clock pedlars" were looked upon by many as one 
and the same. 

38 A good account of the Mormons in Illinois is to be found in Linn, 
Story of the Mormons. 

"NileS Register, LVIL, 364. 

40 John C. Bennett became a general in the Nauvoo Legion as well 
as the first mayor of Xauvoo. At about the time his term as mayor 
expired he and Smith disagreed and Bennett went up and down the state 
denouncing Smith and his religion. 

"See Laws of Illinois, 1840-1, index s. v. Xauvoo, Nauvoo Legion, 
Nauvoo University. 



100 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [100 

federal courts. 42 On the whole the bulk of the people sympa- 
thized with him. They considered him a much persecuted man, 
and felt that he and his followers were a valuable acquisition to 
the state. 43 As yet there seems to have been no settled conviction 
in any quarter that the Mormons were an undesirable element, 
and the dread that either party may have had of their opposition 
was overshadowed by its hope for their support. 

In the congressional election of 1841, the Mormons appar- 
ently supported Stuart (Whig), but already a break appeared 
in their ranks, and with this break begins their attempts to be- 
come a deciding factor in party contests. 44 By the beginning of 
the year 1843, each party was divided over the proposition to 
curtail the powers granted in the various charters given the 
Mormons. Such a proposition recurred from time to time in 
both houses of the General Assembly, and with the fluctuation 
of opinion as expressed in various votes recorded in the Journals 
one can see back of the scenes a skilled manipulator in the 
Democratic ranks. 45 Throughout January and February, 1843, 
there was a growing sentiment among the Democrats against 
Smith and his followers. On the twenty-seventh of the latter 
month the senate on a second reading, by a vote of twenty-three 
to eleven, declared the Nauvoo city charter revoked, 46 but on 
March 6, the same body without recording its vote refused to 
advance the bill to a third reading. 47 The house had already 
voted fifty-eight to thirty-three to repeal the more obnoxious sec- 
tions of the charter. 48 Of the fifty-eight affirmative votes forty- 
four were Democratic and fourteen Whig, while eighteen Demo- 

42 Stenhouse, Rocky Mountain Saints, 138; Ford, History of Illinois, 
266 ; Greene and Thompson, Governors' Letter-Books, II, lxxviii ; Federal 
Cases, case No. 12,968; Sangamo Journal, September 30, 1842; Alton 
Telegraph, January 14, 28, February 4, 1843 ; Quincy Herald, January 12, 
1843 ; Niles' Register, LXIIL, 389. 

4S Niles' Register, LVIII., 57, 297; Linn, Story of the Mormons, 221; 
Ford, History of Illinois, 261. 

44 Hancock County; Stuart, 1201 ; Ralston, 523; Collins, 1. MSS. 
Election Returns. (Secretary of State's Office, Springfield, Illinois.) 

45 If the writer may be allowed to hazard a guess he would say that 
Stephen A. Douglas was the cause of the change in the attitude of the 
Democrats toward the Mormons. 

^Senate Journal, 1842-3, p. 446. 

47 Senate Journal, 1842-3, p. 553. 

^House Journal, 1842-3, p. 528. 



101] BK rioN.MISM AND ST ATI 101 

and fifteen Whigs voted in the negative, bo the senate 
fote mentioned above nineteen Democrats supported the meaanre 

and three opposed it. This would indicate that the Democrats 
inclined to be hostile to the Mormons. Whatever the cause 
of the opposition it ceasrd in a mysterious fashion in the senate 
within the space of a few days. A eloser view of the situation 
may he <rot by an examination of the stand taken by senators and 
representatives who had Mormon Constituents. Of the twenty 
Slieh members, fourteen were Democrats and six Whi^s. The 
Democrats divided their vote so that five of them favored revok- 
ing all or parts of the Nauvoo charter, four opposed such revoca- 
tion, and five failed to vote. A similar lack of unity existed 
among the six Whigs. Two voted for the measure, two against 
it, while two did not vote. The fact that the members voting 
were almost equally divided for and against revocation, and that 
seven of the twenty failed to vote would indicate that those in 
the best position to know just where the Mormons stood politically 
were not at all sure of their ground. 

During the session of the General Assembly under considera- 
tion an attempt was made by certain members of the Galena bar 
to impeach Thomas C. Browne, one of the justices of the State 
Supreme Court. Browne was a Whig, and at an earlier day an 
anti-Jackson man. He had been on the supreme bench for more 
than twenty years, and during that time, owing to his persistent 
attempts to get political office, he had made many bitter enemies 
in the ranks of both parties. His accusers made it clear that 
there was no suspicion against his honesty of purpose, and that 
the charges against him involved "nothing derogatory to his 
character as a man of integrity, but is founded on the natural 
infirmity and feebleness of his intellect, and over w T hich he has 
no control." 49 Between December 24, 1842, the day upon which 
a petition was presented to the house calling upon that body to 
investigate the accusation, and January 3, 1843, the date set for 
beginning the investigation, friends and enemies of Brownie 
worked incessantly, the former to have the charges dismissed 
without a hearing, the latter to have them pressed with undue 
severity. On January 4, after hearing evidence, the committee 
of the whole asked to be discharged from further consideration 
of the charges made against Browne. The request was refused 
by a vote of seventy-one to forty. Of the thirty-five Whigs 

49 House Journal, 1842-3, p. 135-6. 



102 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [102 

voting, fifteen opposed it. The next day the house declared that 
it would consider the charges no farther. 50 Already on January 
3, the senate by a vote of twenty to seventeen, had declined to 
send a committee or attend as a body at the investigation. The 
Whigs in the senate were almost equally divided over the ques- 
tion. Seven had voted to refuse to accept the invitation of the 
house to participate in the proceedings, while six had voted 
to accept it. 51 

In this contest there seems to have been a mixture of motives. 
In all sections of the state the Whigs professed to view the pro- 
ceedings as persecution and proscription. To many this was 
the beginning of a solid Democratic judiciary. The Whig press 
denounced it in no uncertain terms, charging that the Democrats 
were determined to stop little short of physical force to gain, 
their ends. 52 The twenty Whig members voting in the house to 
discontinue all investigation voted their political convictions. A 
few of the fifteen voting in what appears to be opposition to 
the party were perhaps influenced by their local constituencies, 
while the greater part of the fifteen that cast an apparently 
hostile vote to Browne were doing it for political purposes. 
Lincoln was Browne's attorney, and his friends, who in this case 
were the wheel horses of the Whig party and men of expediency, 
wanted nothing better than to bring the impeachment proceed- 
ings before the senate so that Lincoln could there make political 
capital for the approaching campaign. The only alternative 
acceptable to them, and the one they finally agreed to take, was 
an open acknowledgement on the part of the Democrats that they 
were in the wrong and that the charges were baseless. The 
Democrats apparently understood the situation, for as we have 
already seen they agreed to drop matters without further investi- 
gation. As had so often happened before, the majority was cir- 
cumvented by a few shrewd politicians of the opposition party 
backed by the ability and ingenuity of Lincoln and his close 
associates. The accusers of Judge Browne had some ground for 
their accusations, and while it was perhaps not sufficient to jus- 
tify impeachment and conviction, it was certainly sufficient to 

50 House Journal, 1842-3, pp. in, 122, 123, 124, 125, 132, 135-6, 140-3, 
147, 149-50. 

51 Senate Journal, 1842-3, p. 147. 

52 For the best exposition of Whig view known to the writer, see 
Alton Telegraph, January 14, 1843. 



nONALIBM and STATE issues L03 

justify b mow thorough examination of the chargei than was 

givei 

Daring the year and a half that intervened before the oexl 
;i of the General Assembly the question of paying the public 

debt and finishing the canal Were taken up and discussed, and the 

members of the General Assembly elected in August, 1S44, knew 
much better the attitude of their constituents toward the matters 
at hand than had their predecessors. Governor Ford had used 
the intervening time to good account in putting the affairs of the 
state in their proper light before the people,"' 4 and in assuring 
the creditors that there was a growing sentiment for paying a 
part of the rapidly accruing interest. His correspondence with 
the holders of state stock both in Europe and in New York was 
productive of good results. Besides, he had sent agents to meet, 
and if possible to convince, the creditors that the undeveloped 
roes of the state would eventually pay every dollar of the 
debt, and that the development of such resources would be 
brought about much more quickly with a completed canal. 

The Mormon problem likewise demanded attention at the hands 
of the legislature. Since the adjournment of the previous session, 
many things had occurred to make it advisable that the problem 
be attacked and solved. During the congressional election of 
1843, the Mormons had thrown their strength to the Democrats 
with the result that they had alienated the support and friend- 
ship of the Whigs ; and their vacillation failed to gain any sub- 
stantial support from the Democrats. The belief that polygamy- 
was being practiced in their ranks made the greater part of the 
non-Mormon population in Hancock and neighboring counties 
their most bitter enemies. Events now ran rapidly. In 1844 
Smith declared his candidacy for president of the United States. 58 
Armed opposition to the sect arose. The governor went to the 
scene of conflict with a military force, and by his advice Smith 
and several of his followers surrendered themselves as prisoners. 

B *If Judge Browne's ability can be judged by his correspondence, 
which has just become public, one may say with a great deal of cer- 
tainty that he was scarcely competent to write out decisions in cases 
coming before the highest tribunal in the state. See Eddy MSS. 

'*State Register, November 8, 1844. 

'•"Greene and Thompson, Governors' Letter-Books, II., lvii., 58 passim. 
<>r a complete discussion of Smith's candidacy, see Times and 
Seasons, February 15, 1844. 



104 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [104 

The two Smiths, Joseph and Hyram, were imprisoned in the 
Carthage jail on a charge of treason, and a few days later were 
put to death by a mob of infuriated anti-Mormons. Following 
this came assault, arson, and even murder. State troops were 
called into the field, and western Illinois became an armed camp. 
Quiet was at length partially restored, but it was apparent that 
neither party would rest content until the other was completely 
crushed." 

Thus the Legislature, when it met in December, 1844, was 
confronted with a full program. Added to the cares of watching 
over and nursing to maturity the feeble and undeveloped re- 
sources of the state, was the necessity of quieting the disorders 
in Hancock and adjoining counties and of putting an end to the 
internecine warfare in that quarter. 

The Fourteenth General Assembly was composed of one 
hundred and nineteen representatives and forty-one senators. 58 
In the house were seventy-nine Democrats and forty Whigs, in 
the senate twenty-seven Democrats and fourteen Whigs. 59 Both 

57 For contemporary and later accounts of the Mormons in Illinois 
see Miles' Register, LVIL, 320, 364, LXII, 123, 323 LXIII, 389, LXIV., 
320, 336, LXV., 180, 354, 355, 357, LXVL, 311, 325, 329, 330, LXVIL, 
68, LXIX., 53, 68, 416, LXXL, 99; Sangamo Journal, August 12, 1842, 
October 11, 1844, September 25, October 24, December 25, 1845; State 
Register, November 1, 1844, January 10, February 14, August 29, Septem- 
ber 19, 26, October 3, 10, 1845, May 22, October 16, November 6, 1846; 
Alton Telegraph, January 14, 28, August 12, 1843, July 6, August 3, 1844, 
October 5, 12, 26, November 9, December 12, 1844, February 22, May 31, 
June 14, July 12, August 23, October 4, 18, 1845, March 14, May 2, 1846; 
Quincy Herald, January 12, 1843; Expositor, June 7, 1844; Neighbor, 
June 15, 1844. Current files of Missouri Republican and Chicago Demo- 
crat are valuable in checking up other papers. A good secondary account 
may be found in Linn, The Story of the Mormons; Lee, The Mormon 
Menace; Gregg, The Prophet of Palmyra; Stenhouse, The Rocky Moun- 
tain Saints. 

58 The apportionment of 1841 provided that there should be 121 mem- 
bers of the lower house, of which number Adams County was entitled 
to five. A division of Adams County between the passage of the law 
and the election of 1844 gave two of these representatives to Marquette 
.County, which was never organized and hence did not elect members of 
the General Assembly. Later these representatives were restored to 
Adams County. See Laws of Illinois, 1840-1, p. 22 ft\, 1842-3, p. 79. 

59 "Alton Telegraph, August 24, 1844; State Register, August 23, 1844; 
Chicago Democrat, September 11, 1844; G. Churchill to G. Flagg, Decern- 



105] 



SECTIONALISM AND STATE ISSUES 



105 



houses were organised on party lines, the Whigs in the house 
giving a complimentary vote for speaker to their brilliant leader, 
Stephen T. Logan of Sangamon County. During the session the 

members took some interest in current political happenings. 
They passed resolutions on religious tests for public office, on 
the annexation of Texas, on the occupation of the Oregon coun- 
n Dorr's Rebellion, and on West Point, but the greater 
problem, the one that necessarily occupied a major portion of 
their time, was local. This local problem was nevertheless 
important, for political and sectional lines cut and re-cut each 
other in a most haphazard fashion. The same old jealousies 
between parties and sections reappeared in the most out-of-the- 
way places. Here were revived postponed battles between parti- 
zans in the late presidential struggle, there flared up and blazed 
brightly the dangerous and seemingly unextinguishable fire of. 
sectional envy and hatred. 

Almost as soon as the two houses were organized agitation 
to repeal the charter of the city of Nauvoo developed. Bills to 
revoke or amend the charter were introduced in both houses. 
The senate after a much interrupted consideration of some two 
weeks passed the revocation measure substantially as it appears 
in the laws by a vote of twenty-five to fourteen. 60 Of those 
voting in the affirmative sixteen were Democrats and nine "Whigs, 
in the negative nine were Democrats and five were Whigs. The 
Whigs were apparently actuated by varied motives. Some 
wished to destroy forever Mormon influence and power, and 
considered a revocation of the charter of their capital city the 
most effective method. Others preferred to support the Mormons 
in an effort to hold a balance of power between the opposing 



ber 3, 1844. (Flagg MSS.) In this classification Starkweather of Cum- 
berland is considered to be a Whig. The newspapers were unanimous in 
classing him as such, and this supported by a statement made to the 
writer by his daughter, Mrs. David B. Green, of Toledo, Illinois, who 
says that he was always a Whig, having held office in the East with that 
party, and that he continued so down to the formation of the Republican 
party when he entered that party. Despite what appears to be the best 
of evidence Mr. Starkweather almost invariably voted with the Democrats 
on political measures, and in 1852 he was seriously considered by them 
as a candidate for lieutenant-governor. For particular votes, see House 
Journal, 1844-6, pp. 5, 43, 150, 330, 341. 

60 Vote taken December 19, 1844. For vote see Senate Journal, 1844-5, 
p. 81. For law see Laws of Illinois, 1844-5, p. 187 ff. 



106 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [106 

factions of the Democratic party. Still others had Mormon con- 
stituents whose friendship was worth cultivating at the risk 
of alienating the support of the anti-Mormons. In the house the 
struggle was more pronounced. Bills varying widely in their 
provisions were introduced, but all looked forward to revocation 
or radical modification of the Nauvoo charter. On January 24, 
1845, almost a month after the measure had passed the senate, 
the house concurred in revoking the charter by a vote of seventy- 
five to thirty-one. 61 Thirty-five Whigs supported the measure, 
and but two, Harriot of Jersey and Starkweather of Cumber- 
land, opposed it. 62 The Democrats were more evenly divided. 
Of the sixty-nine present and voting forty voted in the affirma- 
tive and twenty-nine in the negative. An examination of the 
thirty-one negative votes of both parties shows a sectional aspect 
as strange as it is striking. If the "Jack Mormons" from Han- 
cock County, and a comparatively few scattered members from 
other parts of the state be excluded from consideration, the 
opponents of revocation came from counties and districts very 
much affected by rapidly growing urban communities in which 
one might expect to find a wide variance of religious and racial 
elements, and hence a considerable degree of toleration. Thus 
the representatives from Cook, DuPage, Peoria, Kane, Fulton, 
and LaSalle counties consistently opposed the revocation meas- 
ure. 63 The comparative unanimity of the Whigs may be ac- 
counted for by the fact that they happened on the whole to 
represent counties and districts where the feeling against Mor- 
monism was exceedingly bitter. 64 

Following the revocation of the Nauvoo charter an armed 
truce dragged on for months. At last open war broke out in 
and around Nauvoo. Under the leadership of Brigham Young 
and others of the Twelve, thousands of the sect crossed the 

61 House Journal, 1844-5, p. 276 ff. 

62 For a discussion of Starkweather's politics, see ante p. 15, n. 3. 

63 Without more conclusive proof one cannot say that the canal 
supporters "swapped" with the "Jack Mormons" and their friends, but 
the vote for canal and against revocation of Nauvoo charter are strikingly 
co-incident. Of the thirty-one members in the house that voted against 
revocation of the charter, but one, Starkweather of Cumberland, voted 
against the canal measure. In the senate, Parker of Clark County and 
Worthington of Pike voted similarly. 

64 E.g. Madison, Sangamon, Knox, Jo Daviess, Morgan, Tazewell, 
McDonough, St. Clair, Vermilion, and Coles. 



HI, nONAUBH and BTAT1 issri.s 107 

Mississippi and began their wearisome march to the westward. 

Later an army under the command of "General" Brockman 
attacked Nauvoo, which surrendered after some fighting. Gov- 
ernor Ford called the militia into the field and succeeded in 

putting a stop to hostilities. Cooler counsels at last prevailed, 
and with a promise on the part of the remaining Mormons that 
they would follow their brethren without delay, the anti-Mormon 
Un\-('^ agreed to peace. So well was the agreement carried out, 

that one of the first official acts of Governor French was an order 

withdrawing the state troops from the scene of the late conflict. 
In the discussion of ways and means of paying interest on 
the state debt by some sort of taxation, and of completing the 
canal by turning it over with its property and appurtenances to 
the holders of canal bonds on condition that they complete it, 
party and sectional differences had full play. Taxing the people 
to pay interest was inseparably bound up with the completion of 
the canal. 85 Creditors were unwilling to advance further funds 
for the canal unless the people through their representatives 
showed an inclination to declare their honesty and good inten- 
tions in something more substantial than platitudinous and un- 
productive resolutions. In general, one finds that those favoring 
one proposition favored the other, but on the part of the opposi- 
tion there was some diversity of opinion. Umvilling to afford 
special advantages to Chicago and other towns along the route 
of the canal, some were prepared to support measures for paying 
interest without canal legislation, others were willing to turn 
the canal over to the holders of canal bonds, but unwilling to 
favor any measure that had for its end taxation, while the great 
majority in the opposition was unfriendly to both measures. In 
one quarter the opposition was due to an obstructionist policy 
on the part of a few Whigs, in another to sectional envy and 
distrust, and in still others to a feeling that the state had been 
swindled and that the holders of the bonds were bloated and 
unscrupulous capitalists who thrived upon the meager product 
of the hard earned labor of the common people. When Governor 
Davis of Massachusetts and David Leavitt of New York visited 
ringfield in February, 1845, in the interest of the canal project 
they were regarded by many members of the General Assembly 
with suspicion and distrust ; some even declared that they had 
come to the capital with the expressed purpose of dictating to 

•Kj. Churchill to G. Flagg. February 19. 1845. (Flagg MSS.) 



108 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [108 

the "representatives of a sovereign state." Actuated by a 
diversity of opinions as expressed by widely separated consti- 
tuencies, and beset with doubts and suspicions, a great many 
members vacillated between parties, laying themselves open to 
the charge of log-rolling and graft. 

Opposition to the canal and interest measures was not less 
pronounced in the house than in the senate, in spite of the fact 
that the former body passed both measures by large majorities. 
Not having the original bill and the various amendments, some 
of which were incorporated in the act that finally became law, 
one is unable to determine with exactness just what caused the 
long debates over measures that had such a large following. 
There is evidence at hand, however, to show that the opposition 
consumed both time and patience by offering impossible amend- 
ments and by calling for a recorded vote at every opportunity. 
At last on February 22, 1845, a bill, after having been amended 
so as to gain the greatest possible number of supporters, was 
passed in the house by a vote of sixty-six to forty-two. 66 Before 
the clerk could be ordered to report the same to the senate and 
ask their concurrence therein, Mr. Sexton of Gallatin County 
moved to amend the title of the bill by striking it out and insert- 
ing in its stead, ' ' A bill for an act to increase the state debt ; or 
the British grant." Upon the motion of Mr. Arnold of Cook 
County the amendment was laid upon the table. An amendment 
such as was proposed by the member from Gallatin, illustrates 
clearly the opinion held by those who would have scorned the 
idea of any attempt on their part to reject sound state policies, 
simply because beneficial to the northern counties; they con- 
sidered their acts to be based upon the purest motives, and felt 
that their colleagues from the canal district were influenced in 
their actions by a selfish desire to gain advantages for their own 
sections at the expense of the whole state. To their way of think- 
ing, the members from Cook and other northern counties were 
deliberately attempting to increase the state debt and to saddle a 
large tax upon the people, the corollary of which was a grant to 
British bond holders. 

e6 House Journal, 1844-5, pp. 497-8. Of the sixty-six affirmative votes 
forty were Democratic and twenty-six Whig; of the forty-two negative 
votes thirty-two were Democratic and ten Whig. Not a single repre- 
sentative from a strictly southern county, except Adams of Monroe, voted 
in the affirmative. 



109] noNAUSM and BTATB K881 109 

When the bill reached the senate it met not more pronounced 

but rather more successful opposit ion. That body was divided 

almost equally over any proposition which combined completing 

the canal with taxation to pay interest. As it eventually turned 
out. a majority favored each proposition Standing alone, and not 

until that fact was discovered by the friends of the canal, and 
I scheme devised for divorcing the two propositions, was any 
headway made. When on February 25, 1845, the question of 
ordering the house bill to a third reading was under considera- 
tion. Mr. Edwards of Sangamon County, offered an amendment 
that would have changed the bill so as to render it entirely 
unsatisfactory to the creditors of the state. On motion of Mr. 
Markley of Fulton County, the proposed amendment was laid 
on the table until the "4th of July next." 87 Several other amend- 
ments of a like nature were offered, but all suffered the same 
fate. At last a motion was made to advance the bill to a third 
reading, but it was voted down by a vote of twenty-two to 
nineteen. The vote was later reconsidered and the bill was 
referred to a select committee of five, three of whom were warm 
friends of the canal. 68 Later it was ordered to a third reading 
and referred to another select committee composed of Judd, 
Harrison, and Kilpatrick. 69 This committee referred it back to 
the senate without amendments and recommended its passage, 
which was done by a vote of twenty-one to twenly. 

An analysis of this vote is significant, although it differs but 
little, so far as political and sectional lines are concerned, from 
those taken on similar subjects two years before. Of the fourteen 
Whigs voting seven voted in the affirmative. All but one of these 
■even represented districts adjacent to, or north of, the Illinois 
River, and this excepted district was a northern one composed 
of McLean, Macon, Livingston, Piatt, and DeWitt counties. 
Conversely, the opposition among the Whigs came from members 
representing southern counties and districts. Twenty-seven 
Democrats took part in the voting, and of that number fourteen 
supported the measure. With the exception of Dunlap, wiio rep- 

67 The favorite method of killing measures in this and many other 
sessions of the Legislature. 

"Committee : McMurtry (Dem.), Worthington (Whig.). Judd(Dem.), 
Ryan (Dem.), Dunlap (Whig). All except Dunlap represented districts 
having a direct interest in completing the canal. 

69 Judd was a Democrat, while Kilpatrick and Harrison were Whigs. 



110 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [110 

resented a district composed of Crawford, Lawrence, and Jasper 
counties and a part of Richland, these same fourteen senators 
represented districts adjacent to, or north of, the route of the 
canal. The opponents of the bill, on the other hand, were, with 
one exception, from the southern part of the state. Thus not 
upon political but upon sectional lines was the interest-paying 
measure passed. Senators from the northern counties, alive to 
the benefits to be derived from a completed canal and the ex- 
penditure of more than one and a half million dollars in their 
midst, voted to impose a tax upon the people in order that the 
canal might be completed, and their justification, if they needed 
any, was the completion of the canal within four years and a 
final extinguishment of the state debt as to both principal and 
interest. 70 

The house bill, which the senate had just passed with so 
much difficulty, had been so amended in the latter body that the 
canal was left unprovided for. No sooner was the interest bill 
passed and on its way* back to the house for ratification than 
another house bill entitled, "An act authorizing the school com- 
missioners of Greene County to sell certain property purchased 
on execution," was taken up and read a second time. Imme- 
diately Mr. Kilpatrick moved to strike out all after the enacting 
clause and insert what eventually became the '"supplementary 
canal bill of 1845. ' ' This was done, and after being ordered to a 
third reading was referred to a select committee composed of 
Kilpatrick, McMurtry, and Minard, each of whom represented a 
district vitally interested in a completed canal. The next day, 
February 28, 1845, the committee reported the bill back to the 
senate without amendment and recommended that it be passed, 
which was done by a vote of twenty- three to eighteen. This vote 
differs in its sectional aspect only a little from the one just con- 
sidered, in that the north favored its passage and the south 

70 Governor Ford and others have mentioned the support gained by 
dividing the bills, but the names of the senators that changed appear to 
have slumbered heretofore in the journals of the senate. First of all it 
ought to be noticed that every senator was present and voting, secondly 
that every senator that supported the combined measures supported them 
when separated. After the separation the interest bill gained the support 
of Dunlap and Worthington, both of whom opposed the canal bill. The 
canal bill, on the other hand, was supported by Edwards, Smith of Madi- 
son, Warren, and Davis, none of whom was willing to support the interest 
bill. See Senate Journal, 1844-5, pp. 383, 400, 412. 



Ill I SECTION m .ism \\D BTATE D381 1 1 1 

opposed it. Later in tin- same day an appropriate enacting clause 

replaced the one concerning the school commissioners of Greene 
County. Both hills were returned to the house where they were 

repassed as amended by the Senate, and sent to the Council of 
Revision. 

The struggle Over a completed canal and the payment of 
interest on the state debt had far reaching results. During the 

two years in which the contest was caried on, the influence of 
Chicago and Cook County became apparent. Judd in the senate, 
■nd Arnold, Sherman, and Stewart in the house displayed a more 
aggressive spirit than their predecessors had done. Their success 
in advocating measures beneficial to their ow r n locality was 
noticed by their contemporaries, and this success increased 
regardless of the party in power at the capital; and either by 
design or accident a majority of the people along the Lake had 
the same political affiliations as a majority of the entire state. 

Sectionalism has always been a potent factor in Illinois 
political life. In the early days the line of demarcation rested 
on a question of birth. Those born in the South and West were 
hostile to those born in the East, particularly in New England. 
Because of the extreme length of the state, and the fact that the 
settlers from New- England and New York settled in the northern 
counties, sectionalism continued in much the same form but upon 
a modified basis. There was a perpetual misunderstanding be- 
tween the common people of the two sections. The settlers in 
the north regarded their less progressive neighbors with contempt 
that was not always hidden, and the feeling was reciprocated on 
the part of the people in the southern counties with one of hatred 
and distrust. This attitude is well illustrated by the remark of 
a public man who usually displayed a generous spirit toward all 
sections and people. "Mr. Ames, who is as near the little end of 
nothing as any person I ever saw, introduced a bill to repeal the 
Cairo City Charter. . . This individual is one of the Northern 

acres sent to the Legislature to enlighten the ignorant and 
un-intelligent South." 71 If such an expression represented the 
feeling of men who had a broad knowledge of affairs, what must 
have been that of the great mass in the southern counties, who 
had a very distorted idea of their northern neighbors, whom they 
called "Yankees?" 

71 G. T. M. Davis in Alton Telegraph, January 28, 1843. 



112 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [112 

During the five years following 1840, local problems received 
the major portion of the people's attention, and there arose in 
solving these problems serious aspects of sectionalism. Conse- 
quently the activities of the "Whig party are less noticeable than 
formerly. The four important state issues before the General 
Assemblies of these years were: (1) liquidation of the state 
banks; (2) provisions for the state debt; (3) completion of the 
Illinois-Michigan Canal; (4) the Mormon question. The banks 
were liquidated without serious opposition. On the other issues 
the people as well as their representatives were divided. The 
southern and eastern counties very generally opposed completing 
the canal and paying interest on the state debt. The question 
of revoking the Nauvoo City Charter brought on acrimonious 
debate in the General Assembly, but in the end those favoring 
revocation prevailed. There were, however, national political 
issues that demanded attention during this period, and they are 
noticed in the following chapter. 



CHAPTER V. 

The Illinois Whigs and National Policies. 
1841-1845. 

The character of the Federal Constitution, and the large 
place occupied by national policies in the lives of the people, 
make it impossible to divorce local and national issues. It be- 
comes necessary in the lives of most political leaders, in order 
that they may remain connected with their party politics, to deny 
principles which they personally hold, and to adhere to those 
dictated by party policy. Therefore in a discussion of a political 
party within any particular state and its support or opposition 
to local issues, such as has been attempted in the previous chapter, 
there is always a necessary correction of inference concerning 
principles followed by local men, by bringing them into connec- 
tion with national politics. It has been seen that there was a 
natural tendency in Illinois by both Democratic and Whig 
leaders to view all local issues according to sectional interests, 
but the true condition of politics cannot be understood unless it 
is realized that the tendency to break into sectional groups was 
retarded by the demands of allegiance to national politics. The 
Whigs were held rather loosely together by a common adherence 
to certain national policies, which had come by 1840 to be recog- 
nized as belonging peculiarly to that party. The most important 
of these policies were the American system, the United States 
bank, and federal aid for internal improvements. Closely con- 
nected with these policies was a personality, which was a policy 
in itself ; and sometimes it overshadowed the principles for which 
the possessor of it stood. The support of the principles, and 
their sponsor, Henry Clay, divided with local issues the attention 
of the Whigs during the early forties. 

As March 4, 1841, drew near, the Whigs again gave vent 
to the enthusiasm that had won the preceding November election 
for them. To a great many in the party, the opportunity to hold 
an office under the federal government had never before been 

113 



114 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [114 

present; and the prospect of applying the principle "to the 
victor belong the spoils, ' ' to oust thousands of Democratic office- 
holders was pleasant to contemplate. Particularly was this true 
in Illinois where the Democrats had been in complete control for 
years. At the same time the Democrats, unmindful of past 
practices, denounced the proposed removal of federal officers for 
political reasons, calling it proscription for party's sake. This 
contemplated distribution of offices put the Springfield "Junto" 
in an enviable position. John T. Stuart, one of its members, en- 
joyed the distinction of being the only Whig representative from 
the state in either house of Congress, and it was expected, and 
rightfully so, that his influence with the new administration 
would be very great. 

If the Whigs were jubilant at the prospect of actual partici- 
pation in the administration of national affairs, the Democrats 
professed to be filled with the greatest alarm. Before Harrison's 
administration should expire, it was predicted that every land- 
mark set up by preceding Republican presidents would be 
destroyed; that the state governments would be overshadowed 
by the central government and ' ' rushing to consolidation ; ' ' and 
that the United States would be burdened with a debt of three 
hundred million dollars. It was declared that a United States 
bank with a capital of one hundred million dollars supplied from 
Great Britain, having under its control "myriads of dependent 
branches," was contemplated by the new administration. The 
tariff, it was predicted, would be raised to the point where it 
would yield forty millions of revenue annually, and grind "to 
the dust the working man, leaving him but the mere bread of 
existence for himself, his wife, and his children." The climax 
of gloom was reached in picturing the result of the abolitionist 
tendencies of the new president and his advisers; one Avriter 
claimed with the greatest apparent sincerity that he expected to 
see in a short time "the monster Abolitionism stalking through 
the land, and severing the bond of fraternal feeling and love 
which now unites the people of the different states. ' fl Long lists 
of contemplated Whig appointees to federal offices were pub- 
lished in Democratic papers in an effort to prove that the change 
of administration would be revolutionary. The same papers 
fairly teemed with extravagant notices of the supposed hostile 

!See State Register, March 5, 1841. An article entitled 'THE RE- 
STORED DYNASTY OF FEDERALISM" is particularly suggestive. 



115] iuinois wines LND NATIONAL POLICIES 1 1 5 

attitude of Harrison and his advisers toward unorthodox Whigs 
as well as Democrats. 

In the midst of these ominous predictions the news of 
President Harrison's death reached Illinois. It was received 
with sincere regret by the press of both parties. For the instant, 
political differences were sunk as a tribute to the dead executive. 

Kven the most extreme Democratic papers gave him the praise 

they had withheld in the late presidential campaign, and none 
was heartless enough to mention any of the calumnies that had 
been hurled at him in the heat of battle. It was wry generally 
expected that his death would not hinder the Whig program 
of national legislation. 

A elose examination of available newspapers does not indi- 
cate any suspicion on the part of the Whigs that Tyler would 
refuse to carry out the policies of his deceased predecessor. Nor 
did the Democrats seem to have any intimation that this would 
happen, for they began immediately to criticize the new president 
and his cabinet. Particularly was criticism directed toward 
Webster, whom the Democrats professed to regard as the repre- 
sentative of special privileges and a particular section, and the 
incarnation of "revived Federalism." He had been the focus of 
attack since his appointment to the state portfolio had been made 
public, but with the death of Harrison, came the belief that the 
New Englander would assume a larger place in national affairs. 
This belief actuated the Democratic press to redouble its efforts 
in an attack on Webster no less bitter than those which it had 
carried on against Clay, Harrison, and Adams. 

Even before the Harrisburg Convention had named John 
Tyler for second place on the Whig ticket, there was a respectable 
demand in Illinois for such a choice. Tyler had been supported 
by the Whigs and anti-Van Buren Democrats in the campaign of 
1836 as vice-presidential candidate on the Harrison and White 
tickets. As soon as the news of Tyler's nomination in 1839 
reached Illlinois, the Alton Telegraph' 2 voiced the sentiment of the 
Whigs by declaring that "against John Tyler as a candidate for 
the Vice Presidency, we presume not a single objection can be 
raised by any one who is not already enlisted in the Loco-Foco 
ranks. The choice of the convention could not have fallen upon 
a worthier man ; and he will doubtless obtain the unanimous 
support of all the opponents of the existing Administration." 2 

2 Issues of January 4, 1840, and passim. 



116 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [116 

Like sentiments were expressed by the Sangamo Journal, Mt. 
Carmel Register, and other Whig papers. ; 

This feeling of satisfaction in Tyler's selection was not con- 
fined to the press. County ratification meetings endorsed his 
nomination with the greatest show of sincere enthusiasm. At the 
great rally held at Springfield in June, 1840, it was resolved, 
''that we believe that JOHN TYLER— the old fashioned Vir- 
ginian Republican, is every way better qualified to fill that dis- 
tinguished station [vice presidency] than any or all of his 
competitors." 4 Throughout the campaign Tyler's name was 
inseparably connected with that of Harrison, the battle cry being 
"Tippecanoe and Tyler too," and there appeared to have been 
no feeling in Illinois that Tyler was any but an orthodox Whig 
of the purest type. 

For several weeks after Harrison's death, eulogies on the 
dead president allowed little space to the Whig editors of Illinois 
for expressing an opinion on Tyler's attitude toward carrying 
out what were called "Harrisonian Principles." The first dis- 
cordant note came from the Democratic press, which professed 
to believe that the new president was a Democrat at heart. 
These professions were presumably reiterated by the two senators 
from Illinois, both of whom were Democrats, who claimed to have 
information at first hand that Tyler was not and never had been 
a Whig as the people of Illinois understood the term. In the 
face of these claims the Whig press manfully, but with apparent 
misgivings, declared emphatically that the Whigs were satisfied 
with Mr. Tyler. 5 

The president's message to the called session of Congress in 
1841, was published with a professed degree of satisfaction by 
the papers of both parties, each side claiming loudly that the 
message was Whig or Democratic as the case might be. 6 On the 

3 Sangamo Journal, December 27, 1839; Vandalia Free Press, January 
24, 1840. 

^Sangamo Journal, June 5, 1840. 

5 "If there is any truth or sincerity in the professions of the loco foco 
party, we shall soon have very peaceable times, so far as politics are con- 
cerned. The loco foco press professes to be satisfied with Mr. Tyler, — the 
Whig press certainly is. If so, what is there to quarrel about? Nothing 
most certainly, if the loco foco speaks the truth. 'Nous Verrons,' as 
Ritchie used to say." Sangamo Journal, April 30, 1841. See also issue of 
May 7, 1841; also Illinois Republican (Shawneetown), April 24, 1841. 

6 State Register, June 11, 1841 ; Alton Telegraph, June 19, 20, 26, 1841. 



117 I ILLINOIS WHIGS and NATIONAL POLICIES 117 

whole, however, the Democratic press had the advantage on its 
siilr. for those parts of the message dealing with a bank, the 
tariff, and the distribution of patronage, ran counter to the gen- 
erally accepted ideas of the Illinois Whigs. The Democratic 
- and politicians left DOthing undone to diseredit Tyler in 
the eyes of the WhigS, in the hope that misunderstandings and 
mutual jealousies might be brought to life and stimulated into a 

healthy growth. 

In the midst of political uncertainties the congressional 
election of 1841 occurred. Originally the elections for representa- 
tives had been held on the first Monday of August in even num- 
bered years, but the General Assembly, in the hope of being able 
to secure an increased number of representatives on the basis of 
the census of 1840, had postponed the election from 1840 to 1841. 7 
In only one of the three congressional districts, the Third, did 
the Whigs have a candidate of their own party. In the First 
district they combined with one element of the Democrats against 
ex-Governor Reynolds; 8 in the Second, they supported Casey, 
whom they considered less objectionable than his more radical 
opponent, Stinson H. Anderson of Jefferson County; 9 in the 
Third, they had their own party candidate, John T. Stuart of 
Sangamon County. Lack of candidates in two of the districts 
was due to demoralization resulting from Harrison's death and 
Tyler's reported defection from the party ranks, as well as from 
a feeling that a strict party man could not be elected. Under the 
circumstances it was considered good politics by the Whig leaders 
to combine with their more conservative opponents against the 
radical wing. Reynolds was elected in spite of coalition against 
him ; Casey with the assistance of his Whig allies defeated Ander- 
son ; and Stuart, whose district comprised all the northern part 
of the state, was re-elected by a small majority. On the whole 
the Whigs considered that the election had resulted in their 
favor. 10 

7 See Laws of Illinois, 1838-9, p. 109; A. Lincoln to J. T. Stuart, Jan- 
uary 1, 1840, Lincoln, Complete Works, I., 37. 

8 A number of letters in the Eddy MSS. throws light on Reynolds' 
candidacy. See also MSS. Election Returns, (Secretary of State's Office, 
Springfield, Illinois.) 

9 Whig counties in this district invariably went for Casey. See MSS. 
Election Returns, (Secretary of State's Office, Springfield, Illinois.) 

10 Candidates : First district— Henry L. Webb (Whig); John Rey- 
nolds (Loco) ; Stephen R. Rowan (Loco). Second district — Zadok Casey 



118 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [118 

Following on the heels of the congressional election came 
the president's veto of the Whigs' pet measure, the legalizing of 
a third United States bank. Forthwith the Whig press de- 
nounced Tyler in the most bitter terms, and in so doing showed 
their past fears. ' ' Our worst fears are more than realized. The 
die is cast ! The hopes of a nation are blasted. . . and rights for 
which they, the Whigs, have been manfully contending for twelve 
years past, have been trampled upon by the arbitrary use of the 
veto power by John Tyler in returning the Bank bill, refusing his 
approval." 11 What made the situation more exasperating was the 
attitude of the Democratic press, which fairly teemed with letters 
and editorials designed to widen the breach between the president 
and his party. In the minds of the rank and file of the party 
Tyler was a traitor, a renegade, and a political outcast. His 
veto of the Bank bill alienated from him practically all the Whigs 
in Illinois, who saw their well earned victory of 1840 lost through 
what many called "political intrigue and personal knavery." 

Every act of the president which could be interpreted as 
unfriendly to the Whigs, was subjected to the fiercest criticism 
by the Whig press. Removal of Whig incumbents from federal 
offices and refusal by the president to replace Democrats with 
Whigs were denounced, even in the face of recent declarations 
that the good of the public service should take precedence over 
personal preferment and that there should be no proscription for 
party's sake. Time opened rather than healed the wound in- 
flicted upon the Whig party by Tyler's refusal to co-operate 

(Conservative) ; Stinson H. Anderson (Loco). Third district — John T. 
Stuart (Whig) ; James H. Ralston (Loco). Alton Telegraph, July 24, 
1841. 

It is hardly correct to class Webb as a Whig, despite the fact that he 
had leanings in that direction. See H. L. Webb to H. Eddy, June 20, 
1840. (Eddy MSS.) While a member of the General Assembly in 1838-40, 
Webb voted consistently with the Democrats, except in the election of 
public printer. Mr. Weber, against whom Webb had voted for that office, 
merely considered Webb's successor a better Democrat than was Webb. 
Rowan was a Democrat, but in the phraseology of the time he was a "con- 
servative." Rowan withdrew from the race but received 171 votes. 

11 Alton Telegraph, August 28, 1841. The Illinois Republican, August 
21, 1841, made a characteristic attack on the president. "The long agony 
over — the Bank Bill vetoed by his accidency President Tyler. The will of 
the People violated and set at naught— the days of Jacksonianism, Vetoism 
and Monarchism restored." 



11!)) Illinois Wilms and NATIONAL POLICIES 119 

with its members in passing the bank bill. Stung by the taunts 
of the Democratic press, the leaders of the Illinois Whigs were in 
s bad humor when they gathered together to compare notes at the 
opening of the Genera] Assembly in December, 1842. 

Although the bankrupt state demanded the closest atten- 
tion of the lawmakers, there inevitably came to the snrf'aee from 
time to time national issues, which divided their attention with 

state affairs. When the question arose of accepting from the 

federal government Certain moneys derived from the sale of 
public lands, the old controversy about the attitude taken by 
each party toward federal aid for internal improvements was 
renewed. The senate committee on finance voiced the sentiment 
of a great number of the Democratic party when it laid down tin; 
dictum that the proceeds arising from the sale of public land 
within the state differed greatly from those arising from the 
sale of land without the state. The former, the committee be- 

1, rightfully belonged to the state, the latter to the state in 
which the lands sold were located. 12 Governor Carlin had gone 
further in declaring that there was essentially no difference 
between distributing funds collected on imports and funds de- 
rived from the sale of public land. To support his contention he 
devoted considerable space in his last message to defining the 
powers of Congress, and declared that the law authorizing the 
distribution was unconstitutional. 1 ;: 

The demand for money was so pressing that a majority of 
the Democrats in the house supported by every Whig present 
voted to accept all the funds to w r hich Illinois was entitled under 
the law. 14 In the senate the measure met sturdy opposition. The 
finance committee of that body recommended that only a part of 
the fund be received. • After animated debates, and filibustering 
tactics on the part of the opposition, the house bill was passed 
by the senate. 1 "' Every Whig present supported the measure, 
with the feeling that the distribution of the proceeds arising from 
the sale of public lands was a national Whig policy, which had 
the support of Clay. 

Another national policy to which the Democratic members 
of the Assembly took exception was the recent Whig tariff, and 

X -Gcneral Assembly Reports (Senate), 1842-3, p. 102. 
l3 Senate Journal, 1842-3. p. 23; House Journal, 1842-3. p. 28; General 
Assembly Reports, 1842-3, p. 14 ff. 
li House Journal, 1842-3, p. 107. 
x '°Senatc Journal, 1842-3, p. 392 ff. 



120 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [120 

in their opposition they were divided as they had been over the 
proposition to receive the funds from the sale of public lands. 
The senate resolved that the senators in Congress be instructed 
and the representatives be requested to "use their endeavors to 
obtain a modification of the same [tariff] , so that it may favor, if 
possible, all branches of industry alike ; and secure an adequate 
revenue for the wants of the government." 16 In the same set 
of resolutions the Democrats took advantage of the opportunity 
to go on record against the protective principles, and a United 
States bank, and to declare in favor of an independent treasury. 
The Whigs lined up solidly against the resolutions. Under the 
leadership of E. D. Baker, every obstacle possible was interposed. 
Amendments that would have changed the resolutions materially 
were proposed by the Whigs, but to no avail. The resolutions 
were passed, all the Whigs, thirteen in number, and one Demo- 
crat voting in the negative. 17 Opposition in the Democratic 
ranks appeared when the resolutions were sent to the house, and 
they seem never to have been acted upon by that body. 

The meeting of the General Assembly gave to the Whig 
members an opportunity for getting toegther in informal meet- 
ings where ways and means of conducting the congressional 
campaign of 1843 and the presidential campaign of 1844 were 
discussed. Although not a member of the General Assembly, 
Mr. Lincoln was an active participant in the meetings held by his 
political friends, and when a program of action and platform of 
purpose were proposed he was invariably selected to assist in 
formulating them. These meetings were enthusiastically attended 
and the published utterances of the men who made speeches in 
them show that the leaders were optimistic of success. The first 
event at hand of a political nature was the congressional election 
to be held in August, 1843. 

The increase in the number of representatives from three 
in 1841 to seven in 1843, was encouraging to both parties. Par- 
ticularly were the Whigs encouraged. This increase was due in 
great part to an increased population in the northern and central 

16 The senate resolutions as passed are found only in House Journal, 
1842-3, p. 146. 

17 Nathaniel Parker, representing Coles and Clark counties, was the 
Democrat voting with the Whigs. Mr. Parker was perhaps not a very- 
strong party man, for upon several occasions he voted with the Whigs. 



121 ILLINOIS WIIK.S \M> NATIONAL I'Ol.KlLS 12 1 

eounties where the WlligB had always had a fighting eha 
In the Seventh district especially was the Competition I 

between three of its strongest Whigfl Lincoln, Hardin and 
Baker. Bach of these men was popular, each was a regular 
party man, and all three possessed more than ordinary ability. 
For many weeks the outcome was doubtful. 19 Fortunately for the 
party, Hardin, who was the strongest of the three, was selected 
by a nominating convention. Equally fortunately, the defeated 
candidates endorsed the nominee and gave him their support. In 
some of the districts there were Tyler candidates for Congress, 
but in no case did they receive any great support, for Tylerism 
was unpopular among all parties and classes. In the districts 
where the Whigs had no chance whatever to elect their own can- 
didates, they did as they had often done before, supported the 
least offensive candidate of the Democratic party. Thus in the 
Second district, they supported Casey against McClernand, who* 
was decidedly radical. 20 In but one of the seven districts, the 
Seventh, was a regular Whig chosen as representative, yet the 
Whig leaders professed to believe that their party was rela- 
tively stronger than it had been in the campaign of 1840. 

With the election of 1843 out of the way, the Whig press 
took up in earnest the campaign and election of 1844. Clay was 
the only candidate seriously considered. 21 His public acts served 
as the basis for pages of editorials and communications. His 
friendship for the West and South was held up before the 
voters of all parties ; and they were asked to support him because 
of this friendship. Sectional prejudices were appealed to in an 
effort to attract Democrats from Van Buren to Clay. In addi- 

18 Until 1843, practically the entire northern and central parts of the 
state were in the Third district. After the re-apportionment, but three of 
the seven districts can be said to have been southern. See Lazes of 
Illinois, 1842-3, pp. 71-3. 

19 Lincoln, Complete Works, I., 79 passim; Alton Telegraph, April 15, 

1843. 

20 W. Pickering to J. Marshall, April 18, 1843. (Eddy MSS.) 
21 For various opinions see Alton Telegraph, December 30, 1843, 
February 17, 1844. The attitude of the Telegraph toward some other can- 
didates is expressed in the following words : "Daniel Webster, it is 
asserted, intends to be a candidate for the Presidency. We do not believe 
it but should the rumor be true his success will be nearly equal to those 
of John Tyler. Neither of them could carry over one State in the Union." 
Issue of May 6, 1843. 



122 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [122 

tion, the story of the poverty of the early life of Clay was told 
arid retold in an effort to excite sympathy and admiration for 
him in the minds of the people, many of whom had risen from 
a position no higher. Every attention shown Clay by the people 
was interpreted by the Whig press as an omen of victory. Praise 
for him was unsparing. "We notice with pride that the Cincin- 
natus of the West — Henry Clay — in his journey South, is greeted 
at every landing, town, and city, with enthusiastic demonstra- 
tions of regard and respect. How could it be otherwise, unless 
the people whom he has so long and faithfully served, both at 
home and abroad, were perfectly callous to every feeling of 
gratitude and national pride." 22 

What made the situation more encouraging was a threatened 
split in the Democratic ranks. Van Buren was the choice per- 
haps of a majority of the Democrats, and he was certainly con- 
sidered by the Whigs as the prospective candidate. There was, 
however, a strong feeling that Richard M. Johnson of Ken- 
tucky ought to be and would be the nominee of the Democratic 
party. 23 Such was the situation in both parties when the Whigs 
formulated the principles upon which they stood as a party. 

A great deal has been said about the reluctance of the 
Whigs to declare for certain definite principles. However much 
such a state of affairs may have been true in the nation at large, 
it was not true in Illinois. In 1840 the Whigs had adopted clean 
cut principles upon which they asked the support of the peo- 
ple ; 24 and now in 1843, they reiterated their former declarations 
with greater emphasis. Without apparent hesitancy they pro- 
claimed through the press and from the stump, political doc- 
trines that cannot be mistaken or explained away. 

In an "Address to the People of Illinois" by a Whig com- 
mittee composed of Messrs. A. Lincoln, S. T. Logan, and A. T. 
Bledsoe, there were laid down in detail six principal articles of 
faith of the party. 25 First of all came the tariff. A demand was 
made for a tariff for revenue that would give protection to 
American industries. To support their contentions the mem- 
bers of the committee quoted Jefferson, Jackson, and Calhoun, 

22 Alton Telegraph, January 7, 1843. 

23 State Register, November 27, 1840; Alton Telegraph, December 30, 

1843. 

2 *Sangamo Journal, October 11, 1839. 

25 Lincoln, Complete Works, I., 72 ff . ; Alton Telegraph, March 25, 1843. 



lL 1 :; Illinois wiin.s AND NATIONAL POLICE 123 

ami in so doing brought to bear upon their political enemies 

their own artillery. Without taking into consideration any 

ahange in conditions, either political or economic, Jefferson 
made to Bay in a letter to Benjamin Austin that manufac- 
turing was no less important than was agriculture, and that 
American independence depended to a large extent upon the 

former. Jackson was quoted in a similar fashion, and his senti- 
ments for a protective tariff shown to have been even stronger 
than those expressed by Jefferson: "in short, we have been too 
long subject to the policy of British merchants. It is time we 
should become a little more Americanized, and, instead of feed- 
ing the paupers and laborers of England, feed our own ; or else, in 
a short time, by continuing our present policy, we shall all be 
rendered paupers ourselves." From a speech of Mr. Calhoun on 
tin' tariff an excerpt was made which showed that statesmen to 
consider the prosperity of the manufacturer and his workmen 
essential to a widespread prosperity, and that the farmer would 
of all classes share in that prosperity. The committee took 
a definite stand for a tariff that would yield a revenue sufficient 
to provide for the public debt, and at the same time obviate any 
necessity of imposing a direct tax upon the people for purposes 
of the general government. In support of this claim it was 
pointed out that a tariff would fall principally upon the rich, 
while a direct tax would have to be borne by all classes, with the 
result that it would bear most heavily upon the poor. 26 

The question of a United States bank came in for consider- 
able attention. As an argument for its constitutionality it was 
pointed out with emphasis that the first bank had been established 
by the Fathers of the Constitution. To strengthen the argument 
it was recalled that the establishment of the bank had been 
sanctioned by the Supreme Court, "the most enlightened judicial 
tribunal of the world." All this dealt with the constitutionality 
of the question, but in the minds of westerners expediency had 
considerable weight. The committee in a most characteristic 

28 The nature of that part of the address relating to direct taxation is 
illustrated by the following excerpt : "By the direct tax system, none can 
escape. However strictly the citizen may exclude from his premises all 
foreign luxuries — fine clothes, fine silks, rich wines, golden chains, and 
diamond rings ; still, for the possession of his house, his barn, and his 
homespun, he is to be perpetually haunted and harassed by the tax 
gatherer." 



124 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [124 

way solved the problem by saying, "Upon the question of 
expediency, we ask you only to examine the history of those 
times with the miserable present." 

Other issues were discussed in a similar way ; Clay 's Land 
Bill, the naming of candidates for Congress in every district 
regardless of chances for Whig success, and the adoption of the 
convention system for nominating candidates, received their 
share of attention. On the whole these questions were ably 
handled, and the sectional interests of the people of Illinois ap- 
pealed to in an effort to gain support for the Whig party. The 
address closed with an analysis of political conditions both pres- 
ent and past, and the prediction was made that Whig victory in 
the approaching election was assured if only the Whigs would 
remember the principles for which they had fought in 1840, and 
act upon them as patriotic, citizens should. "We declare it to be 
our solemn conviction, that the Whigs are always a majority of 
this Nation; and that to make them always successful, needs 
but to get them all to the .polls, and to vote unitedly. This is the 
great desideratum. . . At every election, let every Whig act as 
though he knew the result to depend upon his action." If the 
address is indicative of the feeling of the committee as well as of 
the party it represented, one sees that along with the spirit of 
optimism expressed there was a soreness occasioned by Harri- 
son's death and the loss of benefits from the Whig victory of 
1840. 

With the Whig declarations thus set forth, the campaign 
for the presidency began in earnest. There seems to have been 
no inclination to consider any candidate other than Clay. 
Throughout the summer of 1843 Clay clubs were formed. 27 The 
Whig press kept Clay before the people by reciting his many 
virtues, and by comparing them with those of Van Buren, whom 
the Whigs considered to be the opposing candidate. The con- 
gressional election of that year gave the opportunity of bring- 
ing national politics to the front, and while the Democrats were 
uniformly successful in that contest, the Whigs took advantage 
of the opportunity, as has been seen, to form coalitions with 
conservative elements of the opposition. 

In December, 1843, a Whig state convention similar to that 
held four years before convened for the purpose of defining 

27 Alton Telegraph, May 27, December 30, 1843. 



125] Illinois wiiKis \\i> NATIONAL POLICIES 125 

policies and selecting electors for the approaching campaign.* 1 
Among other things Tyler warn denounced and declared to be 

Without n party; Clay, and Davis of Massachusetts wnv en- 
dorsed for president and vice-president respectively, but the con- 
vention promised support to the candidates that might be 
selected by the national Whig convention to be held at Baltimore ; 
a protective tariff, and a sound and uniform currency, not metal- 
lic, were endorsed; and as a further slap to the Democrats, the 
convention declared itself in favor of the distribution of the 
proceeds from the sale of the public lands. No previous con- 
vention seems to have had a more complex and complete organi- 
zation. Besides the various committees incident to such bodies, 
congressional central committees were chosen, and a campaign 
outlined. The leading spirits were Archibald Williams, A. Lin- 
coln, G. T. M. Davis, Joseph Gillespie, John Wood, E. H. Gate- 
wood, and Henry Eddy. Other prominent Whigs taking a part 
rather more informal were Judge Logan, W. H. Herndon, and 
John J. Hardin. Of the nine candidates for presidential electors, 
the most prominent were Lincoln, A. Lisle Smith, Joseph Gil- 
lespie, U. F. Linder, and Edwin B. Webb. 29 Two delegates-at- 
large to the Whig national convention were chosen, 30 and the 
selection of district delegates was left to the districts themselves. 
In common with their political brethren of other states, the 
Illinois Whigs made the fatal mistake of assuming too strongly 
that Van Buren would be the Democratic candidate for the 
presidency. Working upon such an assumption they attacked 
him from every angle. Every charge that had been brought 
against him in the campaign of 1840 was made to work over- 
time. Van Buren had never been popular in Illinois, even 
though he had carried the state's vote in 1836 and 1840; and 
common sense on the part of the Democrats demanded that he 
be not nominated in 1844, particularly after it was evident that 
the attacks of the Whigs would be effective. Had the leaders 

28 For report of the convention, see Sangamo Journal, December 14, 
1843 ; Alton Telegraph, December 16, 23, 1843. Permanent officers : 
president, A. Williams (Adams) ; vice-presidents, E. H. Gatewood (Galla- 
tin), L. B. Knowlton (Peoria), Joseph Gillespie (Madison) ; secretaries, 
J. H. Ruggles (Scott). B. Bond (Clinton). 

29 0ther electors were, John J. Brown, D. M. Woodson, X. Belcher, 
and William Brown. 

••State senatorial delegates to the Whig national convention were 
G. T. M. Davis and L. B. Knowlton. 



126 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [126 

of the latter party had the foresight to see the trend of events, 
and the ability to restrain the rank and file of the party from 
premature attack on Van Buren, the outcome of the election 
of 1844 might have been materially different. 31 

With Clay nominated by the Baltimore Convention as stand- 
ard bearer for the Whigs, the charge of bargain against him and 
Adams was raised by the opposition. 32 Because Jackson con- 
tinued down to the very end of his life to believe in the charge, 
it was impossible to dispel from the minds of many, who other- 
wise would not have believed the story, a suspicion that the 
charge was founded on truth. On the part of the Whigs, attempts 
to prove that the charge was unfounded and unjust were impera- 
tive. The Whig newspapers devoted considerable space to a 
refutation of the charge ; and to prove their contention they 
quoted letters and statements from men who had been associated 
with the principal actors of the drama, and who declared that 
there was no foundation for the charge. 33 The evidence thus 
marshalled in defense of. Clay was, to the minds of present day 
scholars, conclusive, but it is quite certain that many who other- 
wise would have supported Clay, refused to do so because they 
believed that he with Adams had "thwarted the popular will" 
in 1825. 

In an effort to revive the enthusiasm of 1840, the Whigs 
of the nation had large gatherings where spell-binders set forth 
the virtues and statesmanlike qualities of Clay as well as the 
principles upon which the suffrage of the people was asked. 34 
At the Young Men's Whig National Convention of Ratification, 
held at Baltimore in 1844, it was reported that thirty-six Whigs 
from Illinois were in attendance. 35 If such was the case, it 
indicates the degree of enthusiasm that must have pervaded the 
ranks of the party, for a journey from Illinois to Baltimore in 
1844 was laborious and expensive and to be undertaken only 

31 Spirit of '76, May 11, 1844; Broadside (Hardin) ; Alton Telegraph, 
December 30, 1843, January 6, 27, 1844. 

S2 Nashville (Tenn.) Union, 1843-4, passim. 

33 Spirit of '76, April 25, 1844. 

34 Alton Telegraph, December 30, 1843, August 31, 1844 (quoting from 
Albany Argus, Newark Daily Advertiser, 'Cincinnati Gazette, New York 
Post, Plebeian Globe, Richmond Enquirer, Albany Journal, Baltimore* 
American, Louisville Journal, Missouri Republican, Lexington Observer, 
Ohio State Journal, and Cincinnati Atlas). 

33 Spirit of '76, May 11, 1844. 



Illinois WHIGS \M> NATIONAL POLICIES 1-7 

under extraordinary circumstances, At a mass meeting held 
at Nashville. Tennessee, in August, L844, Edward I>. Baker, con- 
gressman -e lee t from Illinois, was one of the principal speakers." 
Both these performances were repeated throughout the state on 
i smaller scale. Mass meetings were held at which Lincoln and 

others contrasted the known ability of Clay with that of his 
relatively unknown opponent, dames K. Polk. : 

To set fortli more effectively the issues upon which the 
WhigS wished to do battle, campaign sheets were issued from 
the offices of the principal Whig papers in the state;" and 
broadsides in which the Democratic party and its candidate 
bitterly attacked were distributed among the people. These 
campaign sheets were well edited, usually by the leading poli- 
ticians, and on the whole were more scurrilous than the regular 
newspapers. Intermingled with sound arguments and just ac- 
cusations, one finds much that is untrue and apparently intended 
only to ridicule the opponents and to laugh them out of court if 
possible. Both parties issued such sheets, and the editors from 
whose offices they were issued welcomed them, because it re- 
lieved them of offending subscribers of opposite political faith 
by printing the more objectionable matter in their regular issues. 

With the growth of the abolitionist spirit in Illinois came 
a corresponding spirit of opposition. The principles advocated 
by the abolitionists had never been popular in the state, and 
consequently each party attempted to make capital of the fact 
by claiming that the opposing candidate was an abolitionist or 
at least was friendly to the principles of that party.' 9 Both 
Clay and Frelinghuysen, who had been nominated for vice- 
president on the Whig ticket, were charged with abolition ten- 
dencies, but denials were vehemently made by the Whig press. 40 
In the case of the latter it was pointed out in the most emphatic 
terms that he was a slave owner; Clay on his part denied the 

^Republican Banner, August 26. 1844; Alton Telegraph, August 31, 
September 7. 1844: State Register, September 13. 1844. 

37 Alton Telegraph, August 31. 1844. passim. 

38 E.g. Olive Branch, issued from office of Sangamo Journal; Sharp 
Stick, published at Chillicothe. Ohio ; Spirit of '76, from office of Repub- 
lican Banner ( Xashville, Term.). 

39 Spirit of '76, May 11, 1844; Hardin (Broadside); State Register, 
August 1, 1844. 

40 Spirit of '76, May 25. September 14, 1844. 



128 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [128 

charge and there is little reason to believe that the candidacy of 
either was hurt by such charges. 

Worn-out issues divided interest with new ones. The Dem- 
ocrats, called "Polkers" 41 by the Whigs, kept up the old pre- 
tense that the Whigs held the principles of the old Federalists, 
and while such a charge must have had its effect upon some 
voters, it appears to have lost the potency it had possessed in 
previous campaigns. The Democrats came out openly against 
the distribution of the proceeds of the land sales among the 
states, while the Whigs favored such a scheme. 42 Likewise the 
former party favored the annexation of Texas. The Whigs ap- 
proached that question with considerable hesitation. In order 
to be regular the Whig press opposed annexation during the 
campaign, and afterwards poured out their wrath upon Tyler 
for favoring the scheme, but it would appear from an examina- 
tion of the files of these papers that their opposition was half- 
hearted and halting. 43 Many men from Illinois had gone into 
the Texas country, and their reports stimulated those remaining 
at home to desire that that great empire be added to the United 
States. Something inherent in the western country made its 
citizens favor expansion, and blinded their eyes to abstract jus- 
tice. In addition, the arguments made against the annexation 
of Texas by those opposed to the expansion of slavery failed to 
have their full effect upon the people of Illinois, and when it 
was hinted around that Great Britain had designs upon the 
Texas country, many regular Whigs broke with their party. 

For the first time in Illinois politics the question of Native 
Americanism assumed alarming proportions. With the coming 
of large numbers of foreigners, especially from Germany and 
Ireland, politics took on a new tone and Americanism became 
an issue that would not down. Each party of course desired the 
support of the new emigrants, and in states like Illinois where 
citizenship was not a prerequisite for voting, the scramble for 
this support was the more evident. 44 Although the proportion 
of foreign vote given to either party can never be mathemat- 
ically determined, there seems to be no doubt that the Democrats 

41 See any Illinois newspaper of the time, also G. Churchill to G. Flagg, 
December 3, 1844. (Flagg MSS.). 

42 Nashville Union, June 6, 1844; Alton Telegraph, February 4, 1843. 

43 See Alton Telegraph, October 19, 1844. See also Baker's reply to the 
question of annexation in State Register, July 12, 1844. 

44 A11 white males twenty-one years of age and over were entitled to 
vote after a residence of six months. Constitution 1818, Art. II., par. 27. 



L29 ILLINOIS WHIGS AND NATIONAL POLK D 129 

received the lion's share of it. 41 Following what were called 
anti-foreign riots in Philadelphia in 1844, the Democratic press 

in Illinois made the charge thai the rioters were Wnigs, and 

that it was a determined policy on the part of the Whigs as a 

party to oppose any attempts by foreigners to take part in the 

government.* 1 As was to be expected the Whig newspapers 
denied that the rioters were Wnigs, and to prove their position 
quoted from letters purporting to have been written by promi- 
nent Philadelphians 41 in which the Democrats were said to be 
the rioters. In addition the counter charge was made that the 
rioters were Democrats, and that Democratic clubs in Philadel- 
phia had adopted measures hostile to foreigners. 

During the campaign the Whigs said little about the tariff. 
Apparently the leaders of that party were satisfied with the 
tariff act of 1842. Consequently they left offensive action to the 
Democrats, who appear to have done little with the issue. 

In addition to what may be called paramount issues such 
as the foreign vote, tariff, banks, expansion of territory and 
abolition, there crept in and colored the campaign to a marked 
degree others of a more or less personal character. The Whig 
press charged that Polk had branded his slaves, had opposed 
paying pensions to Revolutionary soldiers, had favored the an- 
nexation of Texas or disunion, and that he was merely a stool 
pigeon for designing politicians within the Democratic ranks. 
The Democrats charged Clay with being a duelist, murderer, 
perjurer, gambler, Sabbath-breaker, and an all around scalaw T ag, 
and that he held political principles similar to those held by the 
Hartford Conventionists ; furthermore that he was opposed to 
equal rights, equal privileges, and equal laws. 48 Charges of an 
even more trivial nature were made by both sides. Polk's aris- 
tocratic tendencies w r ere shown by the price paid for the chair 
he used while speaker of the National House of Representa- 
tives; Clay's private life was laid bare by his political enemies, 
and the people were called upon to vindicate ''American man- 
hood" by rejecting his candicacy. 

Both parties made strenuous efforts to carry the Congres- 

45 Koemer, Memoirs, Vol. I., throws light on this subject. 
A9 State Register, August 16, 1844, passim. 
47 Alton Telegraph, September 28, 1844. 
48 State Register, August 23. 1844. 



130 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [130 

sional election in August. 49 It was considered that the result 
of that election would be a criterion of the presidential election 
to follow on the first Monday in November. 50 In some of the 
congressional districts the Whigs had no candidate, in others 
they had regular candidates. In the First district the contest 
was between Robert Smith of Madison and John Reynolds of 
St. Clair. The former seems to have been a Whig about 1836, 
while the latter had a leaning toward that party at opportune 
moments. Both, however, were avowed Democrats in 1844. In 
the Second district McClernand had no organized opposition. 
The only out and out Whig elected to Congress was Baker from 
the Seventh district, and his lead over his Democratic opponent 
was too slight for comfort. Ficklin, Wentworth, Douglas, and 
Hoge, all Democrats, were re-elected by substantial majorities. 
The election, while it was a great disappointment to the Whigs, 
was not in itself an exact criterion of the presidential election, 
because of coalitions in several districts, and the tremendous 
personal strength of such men as Douglas, Wentworth, and Mc- 
Clernand. The Alton Telegraph voiced the opinion of its party 
when in commenting on the election it declared that Illinois was 
the "only state which has not made some progress in bursting 
asunder the shackles of Locofocoism, and giving some evidence 
of returning sanity." 51 

On the whole the presidential election of 1844 resembled 
very much the election held in the previous August ; in both the 
Whigs were decisively beaten. Clay carried scarcely one-fourth 
of the counties, and in several of these his majority was small; 
in several of them the combined vote of the Democrats and 
Abolitionists exceeded his. The Clay counties may be grouped 
into ~Q.Ye distinct geographical groups: Coles, Vermilion and 
Cumberland in the east central part; Madison and Jersey in 
the southwest; Sangamon and neighboring counties in the cen- 
tral part; Edwards and Wabash in the southeast; and a con- 
tiguous territory in the northwest extending from Warren and 
Knox on the south to. the Wisconsin line on the north. Thus 
but 'three counties south of the mouth of the Illinois River sup- 
ported Clay, and none within a radius of sixty miles from 
Chicago. The abolition vote had considerable effect upon the 
election, although it was not until four years later that it was 

49 Congressional elections had been changed from odd numbered to 
even numbered years. 

50 State Register, July 26, 1844. 
51 Alton Telegraph, August 17, 1844. 



ILLINOIS WHKiS AND NATIONAL POLL I 131 

I deciding factor. In sixteen counties this vote was worth while. 

In some, either the one or the other of the old parti. -s received 

a majority ; in others, the Successful party had to he content with 
a plurality. Between the August election and the November 
election the Whig strength increased something like twelve and 
one-half per cent., while the strength of the Democrats and Abo- 
litionists each showed an increase of about five per cent. Appar- 
ently the Whigs drew from the Abolitionists, many of whom 
Supported Clay because of his reputation as a statesman, or be- 
eaus.- they had formerly been Whigs. In those counties where 
the Abolitionists held the balance of power, the successful candi- 
dates for the General Assembly were usually elected by plurality 
vote. 5 - 

Clay's defeat was a hard blow/ to his most zealous followers, 
for it seems to have been the consensus of opinion that never 
again would he be a candidate for the presidency. Although 
there was a feeling that an unknown candidate would have made 
a better race than had Clay, no one could deny that his services 
both at home and abroad merited recognition of the highest or- 
der. The reasons offered by the Whig press for Clay's defeat 
by an unheard-of candidate were well put by one editor : ' ' The 
diversion made in favor of its old opponents by the partisans 
of the accidental executive, by a large portion of the abolition 
party and above all, by the foreign population, naturalized and 
unnaturalized — who, deceived by the grossest misrepresentations 
have been induced to rally almost to a man . . . has turned the 
scale in favor of the locofocos; and thus enabled them, once 
more, to riot on ' the spoils of victory. ' ' ?53 Stung by defeat, the 
more ardent Whigs denounced the foreign vote cast for Polk, 
and declared that in spite of Clay's defeat, he had been sup- 
ported by a majority of those in whose hands the Constitution 
intended to place the selection of presidents. The expressions 
of some were truly pathetic, even prophetic. They saw free 
trade, nullification, disunion, and the extension of slavery as 
the logical result of Polk 's victory. 54 In their hearts they cursed 
Tyler as the evil spirit that had brought defeat, and in their 
despair took consolation in the belief that he of all public men 
in the country was hated the most. 

52 See MSS. Election Returns, (Secretary of State's Office, Springfield, 
Illinois.) 

™Alton Telegraph, November 23, 1844. 

54 Alton Telegraph, November 23, 30, 1844. 



APPENDIX. 

Under the first state Constitution, which was in force from 
1818 to 1848, the election for members of the General Assembly 
was held on the first Monday of August in even numbered years ; 
and the regular session of each General Assembly convened on 
the first Monday of December following each election. Senators 
were elected for four years and representatives for two years. 
The Ninth General Assembly (1834-36), was composed of 26 
senators and 55 representatives; the Tenth (1836-38), the Elev- 
enth (1838-40), and the Twelfth (1840-42), of 40 senators and 
91 representatives; the Thirteenth (1842-44) and the Fourteenth 
(1844-46) of 41 senators and 121 representatives. Important 
variations from the apportionments are explained in the text, 
but there never was any . variation from any of the apportion- 
ments " owing to a variation of population," as is sometimes 
stated. 

It is hoped that the political affiliations noted below are 
correct, although, as will be noticed, there are a few cases in 
which some doubt is expressed. The authorities for making the 
determination of political affiliation are newspapers, political 
votes in the General Assembly, histories of Illinois, reminis- 
cences, county histories, county archives, state archives, and 
personal letters and inquiries. 

Senate 

Name Politics 9th 10th nth 12th 13th 14th 

Allen, James Whig * * 

Allen, John Dem. * #1 

Allen, Willis „ Dem. * 

Baker, Edward D Whig * * 

Barnett, Robert .....Dem. * 

Blackwell, Robert Whig * 

Boal, Robert Whig * 

Bond, Benjamin Whig * * 

Borough, Joseph Dem. 

Bostwick, Manoah „ Dem. 

Browning, Orville H Whig * * 

iDied. 

2 Vice Turney. 

132 



188 AFFESBU 133 

Nairn* Politics gtfl ioth nth uth r^th 14th 

Bufonl. John Dnii. # • 

Butler, Peter Whig * * 

Catlin. Setb Dem. # # 

Cavarly. Alfred W Dem. * * 

Churchill, George Whig * * 

Constable Charles H Whig * 

Craig, Larkin Dem. * * 

Crain, John Dem. * * 

Cullom, Richard N Whig * * 

Davidson, William H Whig ***** 

Davis, Jacob C Dem. * * 

Dougherty, John Dem. * * 

Dunlap, Samuel Whig * 

Edwards, Cyrus Whig * * 

Edwards, Ninian W _ Whig * 

English, Revill W _ Dem. * 3 

Evans, Aiken Dem. * * 

Ewing, William Lee Davis Dem. ** 

Feaman, Jacob - Dem. * * 

Fithian, William...... „„ Whig * * * * 

Fletcher, Job _ Whig * 5 * * 

Forman, Ferris Dem. * 

Forquer, George Dem. * 6 

Gaston, William Dem. * * 

Gatewood, William J ( 7 ) * * * * 

Gibbs, Worthington J Dem. * * 

Gillham, James Dem. * 8 

Greer, Abner Whig * 

Hackelton, Samuel Dem. * * 9 

Hacker, John S Dem. * * * * 

3 Unseated. 

"•Resigned. 

5 Vice Taylor. 

6 Resigned. 

7 Gatewood was elected to the General Assembly in 1836 as a Whig, 
and during the first session voted with the Whigs. By the beginning of 
the second session, July 10, 1837, he was a Democrat. He continued in 
that political faith until his death. See State Register, August 4, 1837, 
June 8, October 12, 1838; Snyder, Snyder, p. 201. 

8 Unseated. 

e Resigned. 



1 



134 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [134 

Name Politics oth ioth nth 12th 13th 14th 

Hamlin, John Whig * * * 

Harris, John Dem. * * * 

Harrison, George W Whig • • • • 

Harrison, Reuben Whig * 10 

Henry, John Whig * * * 

Herndon, Archer G Dem. * u * * * 

Hoard, Samuel Dem. * 

Houston, John Dem. * * 

Hunter, William Dem. * * 

James, James A Dem. * * 

Johnson, Benjamin Whig * * 

Johnson, Noah Dem. * * 

Jones, Waller Whig * B 

Judd, Norman B Dem. * 

Kilpatrick, Thomas M Whig * * * 

Lane, Levin Dem. * * 13 

Leviston, George ,. Dem. * * 

Little, Sidney H * Whig * * 

McGahey, David Dem. * 

McLaughlin, Eobert K Dem. * 

McMillan, William „ Dem. * 

McMurtry, William Dem. * * 

Markley, David Dem. * 14 * * 15 * 

Mather, Thomas Whig * 16 

10 Unseated. 

lx Vice Forquer. Herndon voted with the Whigs to endorse the can- 
didacy of Hugh L. White for president. At that time and afterward he 
emphatically denied that he was anything but an orthodox Democrat. See 
Sangamo Journal, June 20, 28, August 22, 1835; July 9, 1836; State Register, 
October 12, November 2, 1838; Niles? Register, LIX., 57; History of 
Sangamon County (Interstate Pub. Co.), p. 273', Newton, Lincoln and 
Herndon, p. 6, 

12 Died. 

13 Lane voted with Whigs to endorse candidacy of Hugh L. White. 
He also lined up with the Whigs against the nominating convention sys- 
tem. See Senate Journal, 1834-5, PP- 7&, 510. In 1837 Lane voted for 
Davidson (Whig) for speaker of the senate. He and Davidson were 
from adjoining counties, which may explain his defection in this case. 

14 Vice Hackelton. 

15 Resigned. 

16 Resigned. 



APPEND!! 185 

Name Politics oth ioth nth 12th 13th 14th 

Matt. -son, Joel A Dem. •" * 

Maxwell, George W. l\ Dem. * * 

Mills, Henry 1 Win- * # # 

Minard, Ira Dem. * * 

Mitchell, Benjamin Dem. * * * 

Monroe Byrd Whig * * 

Moore, James B Whig * ls * 

Moore, .loh 11 Dem. * 

Morrison, .Joseph Dem. * 

Murray, John Whig * * 

Noel, Lunsford R Dem. * * 

Xiinnally, Nelson W _ Dem. * * * * 

( > Hear. William Whig * * 

( >w en, Thomas H Dem. * 

Parker, Nathaniel Dem. * * * 

Parrish, Braxton Dem. * 19 * * * * 

Pearson, John Dem. * * 

1 \ ck, Ebenezer Dem. #2 ° 

Powers, George W Whig * 

Pruyne, Peter Dem. * 

Ralston, James H Dem. * •* 

Rattan, Thomas Dem. * 

Reilly, John C Dem. * 

Richardson, William A Dem. * * 

Ross, William Whig * * * 

Ruggles, Spooner Whig * * 

Ryan, Michael Dem. * * 

Sargeant, William L Whig *" * 

Servant, Richard B Whig *" * * 

Slocnm, Rigdon B Dem. * * 

Smith, George Whig * * 

Smith, Jacob Dem. * 

Snyder, Adam W Dem. * * 

17 Unseated, re-elected. Took seat on January 7, 1843. 

18 Vice John D. Whiteside. 

™Vice Will. 

20 Resigned. 

21 Resigned. 

-'-Vice Thomas. 

23 Vice Mather. 



136 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [136 

Name Politics 9th 10th nth 12th 13th 14th 

Stadden, William Dem. * • * 

Stapp, Wyatt B Whig • • 

Stephenson, James W Dem. * M 

Strode, James M Dem. ** 

Taylor, Edmund D Dem. * 28 

Thomas, William Whig * * * 27 

Thompson, W. W Dem. * * 

Turney, James Dem. * #28 

Vance, John W Whig * * 

Vande venter, Jacob Dem. * * 

Warren, Peter Dem. * * * * * 

Waters, George W Whig * * 

Weatherford, William B Dem. * 29 * * 

Webb, Edwin B r Whig * 

Whiteside, James A „ Whig * ao * 

Whiteside, John D Dem. * 31 

Wight, A. G. S Whig * 

Wilbanks, R. A. D Dem. * * 

Will, Conrad Dem. ^ 

Williams, Archibald ..._ .Whig * 

Williamson, William Dem. * 

Witt, Franklin Dem. * * 

Wood, John D Dem. * * * 

Woodworth, James H Dem. * m 

Worthington, Thomas Whig * * 

Wynne, J. R Dem. * * 

24 Resigned. 

2r >Vice Stephenson. 

26 Resigned. 

27 Resigned. 

28 Resigned. 

2 Wice Jones. 

30 Claimed by Whig papers as a Whig, by the Democratic papers as a 
Democrat. See Sangamo Journal, December 17, 1830; State Register, July 
6, 1838, September 14, 1839. Whiteside voted with Whigs to endorse 
candidacy of Hugh L. White; voted with Democrats to condemn United 
States Bank. See Senate Journal, 1834-5, p. 76. Because he gave evidence 
of lining up with the Whigs at this time and later, Whiteside is here 
listed as a member of that party. 

31 Resigned. 

32 Died. 

33 Vice Peck. 



137] Ai'pKNDix i:;< 

House of Representatti 

Name Politic! pth loth nth 12th i.uh 14th 

AWe, Wilson Dem. • • •* • 

Adams, Darius Whig * 

Adams, E Dem. * 

Aldrich, Cyrus Whi^ * 

Aldrich, Mark Whig * * 

AKlrich, Robert Whig * 

Alexander, Harmon Dem. * 

Alexander, \V Dem. * 

Allen, John Dem. * 

Allen, Willis Dem. * 

Ames, Alfred E. Dem. * 

Anderson, Samuel Dem. * 

Anderson, Stinson H Dem. * 35 

Anderson, William G Dem. * * 

Andrus, Leonard Whig * 

Archer, William B Whig * * 

Arenz, Francis Whig * 

Armstrong, George W Dem. * 

Arnold, Isaac N Dem. * * 

Atwater, Thomas Dem. * 

Babbitt, A. W Dem. * 

Backenstos, J. B Dem. * 

Bailey, William W Whig * 

Bailhache, John Whig * 

Bainbridge, Allen Dem. * 

Baker, Edward D Whig * 3C * 

Baldwin, Daniel Dem. * 

Ball, Asel F Whig * 

Barnett, George Dem. * 

Harnett, Robert Dem. * 

Rarnsback, George Whig 

Bartlett, S. M Whig * 37 

11, James Whig * 

Bell, Robert Dem. * 

Benedict, Kirby Dem. * 

"Vice Webb. 

:; " Resigned. 
"Vice Stone. 

-Tier Charles. 



138 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [138 

Name Politics gth ioth nth 12th 13th 14th 

Bennett, John Whig * 

Bentley, Kichard Dem. * * 

Berry, Isaac S Dem. * 

Bibbens, Elisha Dem. * 

Bishop, Mahlon Dem. * 

Bissell, William H Dem. * 

Blackford, Nathaniel Dem. * M 

Blackman, David J. Dem. * 

Blackwell, Robert Whig * 

Blair, William Dem. * * 

Blakeman, Curtis Whig * 

Blockberger, C. B Dem. * 

Bone, Elisha Whig * 

Bowman, Joseph G Whig * w 

Bowyer, George P : Dem. * 

Boyakin, H. P Dem. * 

Bradford, James M Whig * 

Bradley, Richard A :. Dem. * * 

Brinkley, William Dem. * * 

Brown, Benjamin D Whig * 

Brown, James N Whig * * 

Brown, John Dem. * * 

Brown, John J Whig * 

Brown, William Whig * 

Browning, Orville H Whig * 

Bryant, John H Dem. * 

Buckmaster, Nathaniel Dem. **° 

Burklow, John D Dem. * 

Burnett, John M Dem. * 

Busey, Matthew W Dem. * * 

Butler, H Dem. * 

Butler, Peter Dem. * 

Caldwell, William Whig * 

Calhoun, John Dem. * a 

Campbell, Joseph Dem. * 

Canady, John Whig * * 

38 Vice McHenry. 
39 Vice Smith. 
*°Vice Thomas. 
41 Resigned. 



139J APPENDIX lliO 

Name Politic* 9th 10th nth uth 13th 14th 

Carpenter, Milton Dem. • • • • 

Carpenter, William Dem. * 

Cavarly, Alfred W Dem. • 

Charles, Elijah Whig •" 

Charles, John F Whig * 

Churchill, George Whig * 

Churchill, Joseph \V Dem. * 

Clark, Benjamin A Dem. * 4n 

Cloud, Newton Dem. * * * • 

Cochran, John Dem. * * 

Collins, Addison Dem. * * 

Comphor, William Dem. * 

Compton, John Dem. * 

Connelly, Samuel Dem. * u 

Copeland, James Dem. **'° * 46 

Courtwright, Isaac Dem. * * * 

Cox, David Dem. * 

Cox, Jeremiah Whig * 

Craig, Basil B _ Dem. * 4: 

Craig, James Whig * * 

Crain, John Dem. * * * 

Cullom, Richard N Whig * 

Cunningham, James T Whig * *" * * 

Cushman, W. H. W Dem. * * 

Daley, Edward M Dem. * 

Danner, Jacob J Dem. * 

Darnielle, John WTiig * 

Davidson, William Dem. * 

Davis, Cyrus A Dem. * 

Davis, David _ Whig * 

Davis, James M Whig * 

Davis, John T _ Dem. * * 

Dawson, John „ WTiig * * * 

42 Resigned. 

43 Died. 

AA Vice French. 

4 'Vice Enloe. 

"Died. 

A 'Vice Dougherty. 

48 Vice Linder. 



140 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [140 

Name Politics 9th 10th nth 12th 13th 14th 

Dement, John Dem. * 4 " 

Denning, William A Dem. * 

Dennis, Elias S Dem. * 

Denny, John Whig * 

Deskines, John Dem. * 

Diarmon, Jonathan Dem. * 

Dickinson, Andrew J Dem. * 

Dodge, Abram B Dem. * 

Dollins, Achilles D Dem. * * * 

Dougherty, John Dem. *"° * * 

Dougherty, Willis Dem. * 

Douglas, John Dem. * 

Douglas, Stephen A Dem. * 51 

Drummond, Thomas Whig * 

Dubois, Jesse K. :..„ Whig * * * * 

Dunbar, Alexander P Whig * * 

Dunlap, Samuel Dem. * 

Dunn, Charles : Dem. * 

Dunn, Tarlton : Whig * 52 * 

Edmonston, William Dem. * * 

Edwards, Cyrus Whig * 

Edwards, Lorenzo Whig * 

Edwards, Ninian W Whig * * 

Elkin, William F Whig * * 

Elliott, Asa Whig * * 

Emmerson, Allen Whig * * 

Emmerson, R Whig * 

English, Revill W Dem. * * * 

Enloe, Benjamin S Dem. 

Epler, David Dem. 

Erwin, Hugh Whig 

Ewing, Charles F Whig 

Ewing, William Lee Davis Dem. 

49 Resigned. 

50 Resigned. 

51 Resigned. 

52 Vice McClernand. 

53 Resigned. 

5 *Vice Dement. 



#53 



141 I APPENDIX 141 

Name Politics 9th roth nth [2th [3th [4th 

Ficklin, Orlando B •" * * 

Flak, Josiah Dem, * 

Fithian, William Wlii.ir 

Flanders, Abner Dem. * 

Fletcher, Job Whig * 

Flood, William Q Dem. 

Poster, Hardy Dem. # 

Fowler, Joseph Dem. * 

Francis, Josiah Whig * 

Frazier, Elijah S Dem. * 

French, Augustus C Dem. * r ' 8 •" 

Froman, Isaac _ Whig * 

Funk, Isaac Whig * 

Funkhouser, Presley Dem. * 

Galbraith, George Dem. * 9 

Garrett, Peter B Whig * 

Gillespie, Joseph Whig * 

Gillham, William Whig * 

Glass, Robert W Whig * 

Gobble, Sergeant Dem. * 

Gordon, William Whig * 

Gouge, Jesse W „.. Dem. * M 

55 During the early years of the Whig party, Ficklin was one of its 
ablest and most active members. He disagreed, however, with his col- 
leagues on the Bank question. In 1835 he was editor of a Whig newspaper 
at Mt. Carmel. See Illinois Advocate, January 13, 1836. In 1838 the 
State Register claimed him as a Democrat on the following ground : "We 
have placed Ficklin in Democratic list because of his hostility to Clay 
and support of sub-treasury system." Two weeks later (October 26) 
Ficklin stated his political position as follows : "I have uniformly ad- 
vocated a strict construction of the Constitution of the United States, as 
understood by the State Right's party, and the curtailment of Executive 
patronage within the narrowest possible limits. ... I am supporter of 
the Sub-Treasury bill ... am opposed to the election of Mr. Clay in the 
ensuing contest for the Presidency. I do not expect to support him in 
any event." 

56 Resigned. 

•'"Resigned. 
s Resigned. 

59 Died. 

*°Vice Reddick. Reddick died before session convened. Strictly speak- 
ing Reddick was not a member of the nth General Assembly. 



142 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [142 

Name Politics 9th 10th nth 12th 13th 14th 

Graham, Eesolve O *" 

Graves, Hubbard Whig * 

Green, John Dem. * C3 * * 

Green, Joseph ( M ) * 

Green, Peter Dem. * * * * 

Gregg, David L _ Dem. * * 

Gregory, Charles Whig * 

Gridley, Asahel Whig 

Hackelton, Samuel ...~ Dem. * * 

Haley, Maximilian _ Whig * * 

Hambaugh, Stephen D Dem. * 

Hamlin, John Whig * 63 

Hampton, James Dem. * 

Hankins, William J Dem. * * * 

Hannaford, Levi A „ Dem. * * 

Hanson, George M. ......Whig * * 

Happy, William W , Dem. * * 

Hardie, H Whig * 

Hardin, John J Whig * * * 

Harlan, Moses Whig * ee 

Harper, Joshua _ Whig * * 

Harreld, James Dem. * 

Harriott, James Whig * 

Harris, John _ Dem. * * * 

Hatch, Jeduthan Dem. * 

Henderson, William H Whig * * 

Hendry, William Dem. * 

Henry, John „ „... Whig * * 

Henshaw, George _ Dem. * 

61 Politics uncertain. His colleagues from same county were Whigs, 
and his successor, who was elected at special election after Graham's 
death, was Whig. 

62 Died. 

63 Vice Lane. Green died during the next session. 

64 Green was considered to be a Whig by many of his colleagues in 
the General Assembly. See State Register, January 4, 1840. He voted 
in 1836, however, with Democrats in support of Jackson's administration. 

65 Resigned. 

6G Vice Comphers. From available information it is not known whether 
Comphers died or resigned. Hence no note after his name. 



143 ] Al'I'KNMX 1 43 

:nc Polities gtfc 10th ntli I2th 13th 14th 

Herndon, William 11 Whig * 

Hick, Thomas S r Dem. * * 

Hirkman, William Whig * 

Hicks, Stephen G Dem. • • • 

Hinton, Alfred Dem. * 

Ilitt. Samuel M Whig 

Hogan, John Whig * 

Holmes, William Whig * 

Horney, Samuel Dem. * 

Houston, John Dem. * 

Howard, Jonathan B Dem. * 

Huffman, Samuel Whig * 

Hughes, John D. Dem. * 

Hughey, Joseph Dem. * * 

Hull, Alden Whig * * 

Humphrey, John G Dem. * 

Hunsacker, James J Dem. * 

Hunt, Thomas Whig * * 

Hunter, William Dem. * 

Jackson, Aaron C Whig * 

Jackson, B. M Dem. * 

Jackson, William M Dem. * * 

Janney, Eldridge S Dem. * 

Jarrot, Vital WHhig * 

Jewell, E. G Dem. * 

Johnson, Benjamin Whig * 

Jonas, Abraham WTiig * 

Jones, Gabriel Whig 

Kelly, John M Dem. * 

Kendall, Samuel T Whig * 

Kent, Germanicus Whig 

Kercheval, Gholson Dem. * 

Kerr, Richard Dem. *" T 

Kirkpatrick, John Dem. * 

67 Kerr had removed to Iowa after the regular session of 1838-9. 
Evidently his constituents considered that he had removed from the state, 
for they elected Love to nil out his unexpired term. Kerr took the 
opposite view. He appeared before the house and convinced that body 
that he was still a citizen of Illinois and hence entitled to his place, 
whereupon Kerr was seated and Love's claim was rejected. 



144 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [144 

Name Politics 9th 10th nth 12th 13th 14th 

Kitchell, Wickliffe Dem. * 

Koerner, Gustav Dem. * 

Kuykendall, Andrew J Dem. * * 

Lagow, Wilson Dem. * 

Lane, William Dem. •" 

Langworthy, Cyrus Whig * 

Laughlin, William Dem. * 

Lawler, John S Dem. * 

Leary, Albert G. Dem. * * 

Leighton, James Whig * 

Lester, Harvey Dem. * 

Lincoln, Abraham „ Whig * * * * 

Linder, Usher F O * 70 

Link, Lewis W Dem. * n 

Lockard, James _ Whig * * 

Logan, John Dem. * * * 

Logan, Stephen T .. Whig * * 

Loop, James L „ Dem. * 

Lott, Peter Dem. * 

Love, Oscar Dem. * 72 

Loy, Thomas M Dem. * 

Lyons, James H Whig * * 

McBride, William Dem. * 

McClernand, John A Dem. * T3 * * 

McClurken, James Dem. * 

McCormick, Andrew Whig * * 

McCown, John Dem. * 

McCutchen, Jesse M Whig * 

McDonald, John Dem. * * * 

McDonald, John „ Dem. * 

68 Resigned. 

69 Linder was Democrat until about 1839. See Linder, Early Bench 
and Bar of Illinois, 228, 281. In 1842, he was Whig candidate for General 
Assembly and in 1844 a Whig candidate for presidential elector. He 
supported Douglas in 1858 and was a delegate to the Democratic National 
Convention at Charleston in i860. 

70 Resigned. 

71 Resigned. 

72 See note on Kerr. 

73 Resigned. 



I4r>) append i r> 

Name Politics gth roth utli [2th [3th 14th 

McGahey, James D. Dem. * : ' 

McGinnis, John P. Dem. 

McHenry, William Dem. * : 

McLean, James M Whig * 

McMillan. Andrew Dem. # 

tfcMillan, Robert Whig * 

McMurtry, William Dem. * 

McWilliams, James Dem. * 

Madden, Henry Dem. * • 

Mauley, Uri Dem. * 

Manning, Julius Dem. * * 

Ma rrs, William B Dem. * 

Marshall, James Dem. * * 

Marshall, Samuel D _.Whig * 

Matthews, Samuel T Whig * 

■Mans, William S Dem. * 

Menard, Edmund Whig * 

Menard, Pierre Whig * * 

Metz, Benjamin B Whig * 

Miller, Anson S Whig * 

Miller, Harvey L. Dem. * * 

Miller, William Dem. * 

Minor, Gideon Dem. * 

Minshall, William A Whig * * 

Mitchell, Edward Whig * 

Moore, Daniel P Dem. * 

Moore, John Dem. * * 

Moore, William Whig * * 

Moore, William J _Whig * 

Morgan, Edward T Dem. * 

Morrille, Jacob C Dem. * 

Morris, R. G Dem. * 

Morrison, J. L. D Whig * 

Morton, Joseph Dem. * 

Munsell, Leander Whig * 

Murphy, John H Whig * * 

Murphy, Richard Dem. 

Murphy, Richard G Dem. 

Myers, Elias B Whig 

7 *Died. 
-•Died. 



# * # 



146 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [146 

Name Politics 9th 10th nth 12th 13th 14th 

Nance, Thomas J Dem. * 7fi 

Naper, Joseph Dem. * * 

Nesbitt, Samuel G _ Dem. * 

Norris, James Dem. * 

Nowlan, David Dem. * 77 

Nunnally, Nelson W Dem. * 

Nye, Iram Dem. * 

O'Connor, Ambrose Dem. * 

O'Neille, Edward J Whig * 

Odam, Dempsey Dem. * * 

Oglesby, John M Dem. * 

Olds, Francis A Dem. * 

Oliver, John _ Dem. * * 

Ormsbee, Joseph W Dem. * 

Otwell, William Whig * 

Outhouse, James Dem. * 

Owen, Thomas H , Dem. * * 

Pace, Harvey T Dem. * 78 * * 

Parkinson, James Whig 

Parrish, Braxton Dem. * 

Parsons, Solomon Dem. * 

Paullen, Parvin Dem. * 

Peck, Ebenezer Dem. * 

Penn, Philip Dem. * 

Phelps, William J Whig * 

Phillips, Alexander Whig * * 

Pickering, William Whig * * 

Pitner, Franklin R Dem. * 

Porter, David Dem. * 79 

Pratt, John W Whig * * 

Prentice, Owen Dem. 

Prevo, Samuel .._ Dem. * 

Ralston, James H „ Dem. * 

Randolph, William H Whig 

Rawalt, Jonas Whig 

Rawlings, Isaac D Whig 

Read, John W _ Whig 

7G Vice Calhoun. 

77 Died. 

78 Vice Anderson. 

™Vice McGahey. 






14 i | AITKNIMX 147 

Name Politics Oth loth nth uth 13th 14th 

Reddick, William G.._._ Dem. • •" 

Reed, J. 11 _ Dem. * 

Reynold*, James Whig 

Richardson, William A Dem. • * 

Kirks, William S Dem. * 

Bobbins, E. W T Dem. * 

Roberts, Louis Whig * 

Robinson, Jeffrey Dem. * M 

Roman, William W Dem. * 

Ross, Lewis W Dem. * * 

Ross, William __ Whig * 

Rowan, Stephen R __ Dem. * 82 

Scarborough, George Dem. * 

Scott, James K „ _ „ Dem. * * 

Scott, John _ Dem. * 

Scott, John _ Dem. * 

Semple, James Dem. * * 

Sexton, Orville Dem. 

Sharp, Joseph L _ Dem. 

Shepley, Oliver _ Dem. 

Sherman, Francis C _ Dem. * 

Shields, James Dem. * 

Shirley, John _ Dem. * 

Simms, Hall _ _...Dem. #S3 * 

Smith, Benjamin L Dem. * 

Smith, Edward _ Dem. * w * •" 

Smith, George _ Whig * 

Smith, Guy W Whig * 

Smith, Henry __ Whig * 

Smith, Joseph _ Whig * 

Smith, Robert Dem. * # 

Smith, William Dem. * 

Spicer, Reuben H _._ Dem. * 

Stapp, Wyatt B _ Whig * ' 

80 See note on Gouge. 

"Resigned. 

82 Resigned. 

%?, Vice French. 

g4 Vice Ficklin. 

85 Died. 



# 



148 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [148 

Name Politics 9th 10th nth 12th 13th 14th 

Starkweather, Elisha H ( M ) * 

Starne, Alexander Dem. * * 

Starr, Richard W Whig * 9T * 

Steele, John Dem. • 

Stewart, Hart L Dem. * * 

Stewart, Robert Whig * 

Stockton, William S Whig * 

Stone, Daniel Whig * M 

Strong, N. D .....Whig * 

Stuart, John T Whig * 

Stuntz, John Dem. * 

Summerville, John A Dem. * w 

Tackerberry, Middleton Dem. * 

Thomas, Cheney Whig * 

Thomas, Jesse B., Jr _ Dem. #9 ° 

Thomas, John Dem. * 

Thompson, Amos Dem. * * 

Thompson, John „ _ Dem. * 91 

Thompson, Samuel G ( 92 ) * 

Thornton, Hiram W Whig * 

Thornton, William F Whig #93 

Threlkeld, Thomas Whig * 

Trower, Thomas B Dem. * 

Troy, Daniel - Whig * 

Trumbull, Lyman „ Dem. * 

Tunnel, Calvin Dem. * * 

Turley, John S Dem. * * 

Turner, Horace Dem. * 

Turney, Daniel _ Dem. * * 9t * 

Turney, James „ Dem. ** J 

86 See ante p. 105 n. 

87 Vice Flood. 

88 Resigned. 

89 Vice Nowlan. 

90 Resigned. 

91 Died. 

92 Claimed by Democratic press as a Democrat. See State Register, 
January 4, 1800. Voted with Whigs in 1836, however, to condemn Jack- 
son's administration. 

93 Resigned. 

9 *Vice Robinson. 

95 Vice Link. 



149 j APPENDIX 149 

une Politics pth ioth nth uth 13th 14th 

Vance, P, c. Dem. * 

Vandeveer, Horatio M. Dem. * 

Vandeventer, Jacob Dem. * 

Vedder, P. P Dem. * 

Vineyard, Philip Dem. * * 

Voris, Francis Whig * 

Wagner, Jacob Dem. * 

Walker, Isaac P Dem. * 

Walker, James Dem. * 

Walker, Newton _ Whig * 

Walker, Richard S Dem. * 

Warren, J. M Dem. * 

Waters, George W Whig * 

Watkins, Joseph E Whig * M 

Weatherford, William B Dem. * 

Webb, Edwin B Whig * * * * 

Webb, Henry L _ Dem. •" 

W.st, Amos S Whig * 

West, Edward _ Whig * 

Wheat, Almeron Dem. * 

Wheeler, Alpheus Dem. * * 

Whitcomb, Lot Dem. * 

White, James Whig * 

White, John Dem. * * 

White, John Whig * 

White, Martin Dem. * 

Whiteside, John D Dem. * * 

Whitten, Easton Dem. * * 

Wilcox, Charles C Whig * 

Wilkinson, Winfield S Dem. * 

Williams, Archibald Whig 

Williams, Isaac Whig 

Williamson, William Dem. 

Wilson, Robert L Whig 

Wilson, William Dem. 

Witt, Franklin Dem. 

"Vice Graham. 
97 Resigned. 
"Vice Galbreath. 
'ice Thornton. 



**> 



150 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [150 

Name Politics 9th 10th nth 12th 13th 14th 

Wood, Daniel Dem. * ,0 ° * * * 

Wood, John T Dem. * 

Woodburn, William Dem. * 

Woodson, David M Whig * 

Woodworth, James H Dem. * 

Woolard, James B Dem. * 

Wren, Johnson Dem. * 

Wyatt, John Dem. * * 101 

Yates, Eichard Whig * * 

Youngkin, John F Whig - * 

Zeiber, John S Dem. * 

Zimmerman, Jacob Dem. * 

100 Vice Rowan. 

101 Vice Douglas. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
M.K.u. Works, Biographies, and Memoirs. 

Adams. Charles Francis (Ed.). Memoirs of John Quincy Adams, 
comprising portions of his Diary from 1705 to 1K4S. u Vols. Philadel- 
phia, 1874-7. 

Benton, Thomas II. Thirty years' View. 2 Vols. New York, 1858. 

Chase, Salmon P. and Cleveland, Charles D. Anti-Slavery Addresses 
of 1844 and 1S45. London and Philadelphia, 1867. 

Colton, Calvin. Life and Times of Henry Clay. 2 Vols. New York, 
1846. 

Ford, Paul Leicester (Ed.). Writings of Thomas Jefferson. 10 Vols. 
New York, 1892-9. 

Gregg, Thomas. The Prophet of Palmyra. New York, 1890. 

Hale, Edward Everett. Memoirs of a Hundred Years. New York, 
1902. 

Howe, M. A. De Wolf. The Life and Letters of George Bancroft. 
2 Vols. New York, 1908. 

Jameson, J. Franklin (Ed.). Correspondence of John C. Calhoun. 
(Annual Report of the American Historical Association, 1899.) 

Johnston. Alexander. History of American Politics. New York, 
1900. 

King, Charles R. (Ed.). The Life and Correspondence of Rufus 
King. Comprising his Letters, Private and Official, his Public Documents 
and his Speeches. 6 Vols. New York, 1900. 

Knox, John Jay. A History of Banking in the United States. New 
York. 1900. 

Korner, Gustav Das Deutsche Element in den Vereinigten Staaten 
von Xordamerika, 1818-1848. New Y'ork, 1848. 

Lee, John Doyle. The Mormon Menace. New York, 1904. 

Lincoln, Abraham. Complete Works, Comprising his Speeches, Let- 
ters, State Papers and Miscellaneous Writings. Edited by Nicolay, John 
G. and Hay, John. New York, 1894. Vol. I. Valuable for Illinois his- 
tory. Its claim to "completeness" is not founded upon fact. Many of 
Lincoln's letters, speeches and written addresses have escaped the atten- 
tion of the editors. 

Linn, William Alexander. The Story of the Mormons. New York, 
1902. That part of the work referring to Mormons in Illinois is very 
good. 

MacDonald. William. Jacksonian Democracy, 1829-1837. (American 
Nation Series. Vol. 15.) New York, 1906. 

McMaster, John Bach. A History of the People of the United States. 
7 Vols. New York, 1906. 

151 



152 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [152 

Molony, M. T. Pioneer Irish of the West and their Descendants. 
Pam. 1909. 

New York Public Library, Bulletins of, Vol. III. New York, 1899. 

Norton, A. B. The Great Revolution of 1840. Reminiscences of the 
Log Cabin and Hard Cider Campaign. Mt. Vernon, Ohio and Dallas, 
Texas, 1888. 

Ormsby, R. McKinley. A History of the Whig Party. Boston, 1859. 
Little value as source material. 

Parton, James. Life of Andrew Jackson. 3 Vols. New York, i860. 

Sheahan, James W. Life of Stephen A. Douglas. New York, i860. 
Later lives of Douglas have displaced this work as a general biography, 
but for Illinois history during the thirties and forties Sheahan's life is 
perhaps the best. 

Smith, Theodore Clarke. The Liberty and Free Soil Parties in the 
Northwest. (Harvard Historical Studies, Vol. VI.) New York, 1897. 

Stanwood, Edwards. A History of the Presidency. Boston and New- 
York, 1900. (There are many editions of this work.) 

Stenhouse, T. B. H. The Rocky Mountain Saints. New York, 1873. 

Sumner, William Graham. Andrew Jackson as a Public Man. (Amer- 
ican Statesmen Series). New York, 1906. 

Turner, Frederick Jackson. Rise of the New West, 1819-1829. 
(American Nation Series, Vol. 14.) New York, 1906. 

Tyler, Lyon G. The Letters and Times of the Tylers. 2 Vols. Rich- 
mond, Virginia, 1884-5. 

Von Hoist, Herman. The Constitutional and Political History of the 
United States. 8 Vols. Chicago, 1876-92. 

Works Relating Primarily to Illinois. 

Bateman, Newton and Selby, Paul. Historical Encyclopedia of Illi- 
nois. Chicago, 1900, and other dates. A great deal of the data in this 
work is apparently taken from Reynolds, Ford, etc. It is on the whole 
a valuable work for reference. 

Bogges, Arthur Clinton. The Settlement of Illinois, 1778-1830. (Chi- 
cago Historical Society's Collection, Vol. V.) Chicago, 1908. 

Davidson, Alexander and Stuve, Bernard. Complete History of Illi- 
nois from 1673 to 1884. Springfield, Illinois, 1884. There are various 
editions of this work. In many respects it is the best history of the state 
in print. 

Dowrie, George W. Development of Banking in Illinois, 1817-1863. 
(University of Illinois Studies in the Social Sciences, Vol. II, No. 4.) 
This work is very complete. 

Edwards, Ninian W. History of Illinois from 1778 to 1833 and Life 
and Times of Ninian Edwards. Springfield, Illinois, 1870. This work is 
particularly valuable on account of the many Edwards letters it contains. 

p,i r i„ >.-:.„;_ Papers r .c E^i>d bv E B. WasVbvr^e. Chic?.ex>. 



1">;J| BIBLIOGRAPHY 153 

This is the most important collection of letters dealing primarily 

with Illinois history yet printed. 

Ford, Thomas. History of Illinois from its Commencement as a 

in [8l8 to 1S47. Chicago, I854. This work has been a standard for 

ami the more critically it is examined the more its value is seen. 

Ford lived anions; the BCeneS he described, and many of his characteriza- 
tions, which seemed once to have heen too severely drawn, have heen 

home out by subsequent events. 

Gerhard, Fred. Illinois As It Is: Its History, Geography, Statistics, 

Climate. Soil, Plants, Animals, State of Health, Prairies, Agriculture, 
Cattle-Breeding, Orcharding, Cultivation of the Grape, Timber-Growing, 

etc. Chicago, 1S57. In spite of its formidable title it is a serviceable 
account of the times. 

Greene. Evarts Boutell and Alvord, Clarence Walworth. Governors' 
Letter-Books, 1818-1834. (Vol. IV, Illinois Historical Collections.) 
Springfield, 1909. This volume contains the official letters of Governors 
Bond, Coles, Edwards and Reynolds. 

Greene, Evarts Boutell and Thompson, Charles Manfred. Governors' 
Letter-Books, 1840-1853. (Vol. VII, Illinois Historical Collections.) 
Springfield, 191 1. This volume contains the official letters of Governors 
Carlin, Ford and French, and one letter of Governor Matteson. In 
addition there are letters to Governor French from the state's fiscal agents 
in Xew York. 

Harris, Norman Dwight. History of Negro Slavery in Illinois and 
of the Slavery Agitation in that State. Chicago, 1906. A well executed 
and authentic account of slavery in Illinois. 

Illinois in 1837. Philadelphia, 1837. Many accounts overdrawn; sta- 
tistics faulty. 

Kirov, Julia Duncan. Biographical Sketch of Joseph Duncan, Fifth 
Governor of Illinois. (Read before the Historical Society of Jackson- 
ville, Illinois, May 7, 1885.) Chicago, 1888. Especially valuable for the 
Duncan letters and the diary of Mrs. Duncan. 

Koerner, Gustav, Memoirs of, 1809-1896, Life-Sketches Written at 
the Suggestion of his Children. Edited by Thomas J. McCormack. 2 
Vols. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 1909. This is one of the most valuable recent 
contributions to Illinois history. Its weakness lies in the fact that the 
political accounts of the thirties and forties appear to have been written 
after the slavery question had had a chance to color them. 

Linder, Usher F. Reminiscences of the Early Bench and Bar of 

Illinois. Chicago, 1879. Valuable, but truth seems often to have been 

ed in order to say something pleasing about old friends. 

-es, John. Illinois, Historical and Statistical. 2 Vols. Chicago, 

A comprehensive work, but lacking in many important places, for 

example, the presidential election of 1836. 

Peck, John Mason. A Gazetteer of Illinois, in Three Parts : A Gen- 
eral View of the State, a General View of each County, and a particular 



154 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [154 

Description of each Town, Settlement, Stream, Prairie, Bottom, Bluff, 
etc. Second edition, Philadelphia, 1837. Pages 1-89 give an excellent 
account of the social and economic life of the people of Illinois and the 
West. 

Pooley, William Vipond. The Settlement of Illinois from 1830-1850. 
(Bulletin of the University of Wisconsin, History Series VI, pp. 287- 
595.) Madison, 1908. 

Putnam, J. W. An Economic History of the Illinois and Michigan 
Canal. (Journal of Political Economy, XVII., Nos. 5, 6, and 7.) This 
is an excellent account and deserves to be better known in Illinois. 

Reynolds, John. Pioneer History of Illinois, Containing the Discov- 
ery in 1673 and the History of the Country to the Year 1818 when the 
State Government was Organized. Belleville, Illinois, 1852; Chicago, 1887. 
Governor Reynolds apparently wrote the book years after the events he 
set out to describe. Besides lacking coherency, it is not always correct. 
Despite its limitations, it has been and seems likely to remain one of the 
chief biographical sources of the early history of Illinois. 

Snyder, John Francis. Adam W. Snyder and His Period in Illinois 
History, 1817-1842. Second Edition. Virginia, Illinois, 1906. Dr. Snyder 
is a son of Adam W. Snyder, and understands the period of which he 
writes very thoroughly. 

Thompson, Charles Manfred. A Study of the Administration of 
Thomas Ford, Governor of Illinois, 1842-1846. Springfield, 1910. 

Washburne, E. B. Sketch of Edward Coles, Second Governor of 
Illinois, and of the Slavery Struggle of 1823-4. Chicago, 1882. Mr. 
Washburne sets out apparently to prove something rather than to ascer- 
tain facts. The letters to and from Coles make up the most important 
part of the work. 

Washburne, E. B. Edwards, Ninian, Papers of. (See Edwards.) 

Wentworth, John. Early Chicago. Chicago, 1876. Mr. W r entworth 
was editor for a time of the Chicago Democrat, also representative in 
Congress from the Chicago district. He describes what he actually saw 
in and around Chicago. 

Miscellaneous Printed Material. 

Brown, William H., in Chicago American, December 22, 1840. Mr. 
Brown was an editor at Vandalia at the beginning of the slavery strug- 
gles in 1823. In 1840 he delivered an address before the Chicago Lyceum 
and it was printed in the American. I am indebted to Professor G. W. 
Dowrie, of the University of Michigan, for calling my attention to this 
article. 

Buck, Solon J. The New England Element in Illinois Politics before 
1833. (Proceedings of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association. 
1912-13, p. 49 ff.) 

Buckingham, J. S. The Eastern and Western States of America, 
3 Vols. London, [1842.] 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 155 

Churchill, George, Annotations by, on Rev. Thomas Lippincott'i 
"Early Days in Madison County." These articles were published in news- 
papers under the headings. First Paper, Second Paper, etc. In this work 

they are referred to as Churchill-LippinCOtt with proper numbers. Copies 

of these articles are in University of Illinois Library. 

\. I. J. Correspondence of Thomas Sloo, Jr. (Ohio Historical 
ami Philosophical Society Quarterly, Vol. VI. Cincinnati. Ohio.) 

Davis, George T. M., Autobiography of the Late Col., etc. From 
Posthumous Papers Published by his Legal Representatives. Xew York, 
1891. Davis was at one time mayor of Alton, and editor of the Alton Tele- 
graph. Few men were in a better position or more able to write of events 
in Illinois during the time he was a citizen. 

Derby, John B. Political Reminiscences, Including a Sketch of the 
Origin and History of the "Statesman Party" of Boston. Boston, 1835. 

Douglas, Stephen A., Autobiography of. Printed in Illinois State 
Historical Society Journal, October, 1912. 

Thompson, Charles Manfred. Attitude of the Western Whigs toward 
the Convention System. (Proceedings of the Mississippi Valley Histor- 
ical Association, V., 167-189.) 

Thompson, Charles Manfred. The Genesis of the Whig Party in 
Illinois. (Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Society, 1912.) 

Blue Book, 1900, 1903, 1905, 1907, 1909, 191 1, 1913-14. The Blue Book is 
issued biennially from the secretary of state's office. In spite of the 
many errors of fact it contains, it is a valuable aid to writing Illinois 
history. 

Broadside, "A List of the Members Comprising the Fifteenth Gen- 
eral Assembly of the State of Illinois, Session of i846-'47." Prepared by 
E. Rust. Printed at the office of the Sangamo Journal, Springfield Illi- 
noist. Copy in possession of Jersey County Historical Society. Tran- 
script in Library, University of Illinois. 

Broadside. Speech of John J. Hardin together with a series of at- 
tacks upon Van Buren. Issued in 1844. Copy in possession of the heirs 
of the late General John I. Rinaker, Carlinville, Illinois. 

History of Chicago, Illinois. Edited by John Moses and Joseph 
Kirkland. 2 Vols. Chicago and Xew York, 1895. 

The Monthly Chronicle of Events, Improvements and Opinions. In- 
tended for the Popular Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, and an Authentic 
Record of Facts for Future Reference. Boston, 1840. 

The Portfolio (Xew Series). Philadelphia, 1806+. Stray letters 
found in this magazine throw light on Illinois history. 

Printed Documents. 
Illinois. 

Laws of Illinois. 

House Journal. Referred to in this work as House Journal. 

Senate Journal. Referred to in this work as Senate Journal. 



156 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [156 

General Assembly Reports. These reports began in 1839. 
Seventh Annual Report of the Canal Commissioners. Issued sepa- 
rately. Found also printed in General Assembly Reports (House), 1842-3, 

P- 5i ff. 

Report of the Illinois and Michigan Canal Investigation by Davis and 
Swift. 

Adjutant-General's Reports. These reports are issued from the of- 
fice of the Adjutant-General and are in 9 Vols. 

Constitution, 1818. 

State Census 1835. 

Illinois Reports. (Supreme Court.) 
United States. 

Annals of Congress. 

House Journal. 

Senate Journal. 

Executive Documents. 

Reports of Committees. 

Congressional Globe. 

Federal Cases. 

Manuscript. 

Eddy MSS. The complete collection comprises some 5,000 items. Of 
this number a little less than 1,000 are letters of a political nature. For 
the period 1820-1848, these letters throw considerable light on the political 
workings of the state. The collection includes letters to and from Henry 
Eddy, Governors Bond, Edwards, and Duncan, Judges Smith, Pope, 
Browne and Breese, Senators AIcLean, Robinson and McRoberts, and a 
long list of other notables. The original manuscript is in the possession 
of Mr. Charles Carroll, Shawneetown, Illinois. Copies may be found in 
the Library of the University of Illinois and in the State Historical Li- 
brary, Springfield, Illinois. 

Flagg MSS. This is a valuable collection. It throws light on the 
history of the state in many places. The original manuscript is in the 
possession of Xorman C. Flagg, Moro, Illinois. Copies may be found in 
the Library of the University of Illinois. 

Williams-Woodbury MSS. The material in this collection relates 
principally to Danville, Illinois, and surrounding country. There are, how- 
ever, several valuable letters in the collection, particularly those from 
William Kinkade. The original manuscript is in the possession of Mr. 
A. G. Woodbury, Danville, Illinois. 

MSS. Election Returns, Secretary of State's office, Springfield, 
Illinois. Heretofore too much dependence has been placed upon election 
statistics copied from contemporary accounts and newspapers. Transcripts 
of statistics relating to the most important election have been made and 
are to be found in the Library of the University of Illinois. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 157 

Election Returns (Count} Court Houses). Election schedules 
of the following counties hive been examined and used in this work: 
Coles, Sangamon, Edgar, Clark, Crawford, Lawrence, Gallatin, Edwards, 
Macoupin, Wayne, Fayette and Tazewell. In a few cases only arc the 
Original schedules intact. Those found in Sangamon, Fayette, Coles and 

Macoupin are the most important. 

Miscellaneous l/.v.v. (County Court Houses.) Court Records, etc. 

Newspapers. 

This study has necessarily depended in large part upon contemporary 
Illinois newspapers, which fall into two groups corresponding roughly to 
periods of time. For the twenties, the Edwardsville Spectator and the 
Illinois Intelligencer have furnished the greater amount of information; 
while the Alton Telegraph, Sangamo Journal, State Register, Chicago 
Democrat, and Chicago American have been used very extensively for 
the thirties and forties. Scattering issues of a number of less important 
papers have been examined whenever the opportunity offered itself. 

Xo attempt has been made in this bibliography to give a complete 
history of the newspapers consulted. Change of name or location has been 
indicated only when the omission of such information might confuse and 
mislead the reader. The dates given immediately after the place of 
publication, indicate the extreme limits in which that particular newspaper 
has been used in the preparation of this study. The newspaper file 
referred to in the case of the more important papers, is believed to be the 
most complete. For further information about Illinois newspapers for 
the period covered in this study, the reader is referred to Scott's News- 
papers and Periodicals of Illinois, 1814-1879. 

Alton American, Alton. 1833-4. Thomas Lippincott, editor. Lippin- 
cott was a radical anti-slavery man during the convention struggle of 
1822-4. University of Illinois Library. 

Alton Spectator, /\lton. 1832-6. Chicago Historical Society Library. 

Alton Telegraph, Alton. 1836-1845. The Telegraph was a strong 
Whig paper. Of its editors the ablest were John Bailhache and George 
T. M. Davis. The former was a strong anti-slavery man but in common 
with his political brethren he was willing to allow the subject to be kept 
in the background. Davis was one of the state's leading lawyers, a fluent 
writer, and prominent in both state and national politics. In many respects 
the Telegraph was the best edited paper in the state during the late thirties 
and earlier forties. Chicago Historical Society Library. 

Chicago American, Chicago. 1836-42. The American was Whig in 
politics and kept up a continual editorial warfare with the Chicago Demo- 
crat. Of its editors the best known politically were T. O. Davis and 
Buckner S. Morris. Chicago Historical Society Library. 

Chicago Express. Chicago. 1842-4. Whig in politics. Newberry 
Library, Chicago, Illinois. 



158 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [158 

Chicago Democrat, Chicago. 1833-45. Democratic in politics. Edited 
by John Calhoun, later by "Long" John Wentworth. The latter was 
representative in Congress from 1843 to 1851. The Democrat was the 
leading journal of the northern part of the state. When the Kansas- 
Nebraska agitation set in Wentworth opposed Douglas and later aided 
in organizing the Republican party. The paper became Republican. 
Chicago Historical Society Library. 

Cincinnati American, Cincinnati, Ohio. 1830. Whig in politics and 
well edited. University of Illinois Library. 

Crisis, Edwardsville. 1830. Supported the Reynolds Administration. 
Chicago Historical Society Library. 

Expositor, Nauvoo. There was but one issue of this paper, June 7, 
1844. As its name implies it was established for the purpose of exposing 
certain things. It openly denounced Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet, 
with the result that its press was thrown into the river and its owners 
and editor compelled to flee from the city. Illinois State Historical 
Library. 

Galena Advertiser, Galena. 1830. Established by Hooper Warren and 
supported by the Edwards party. Chicago Historical Society Library. 

Illinois Advocate, Vandalia. 1835-6. Edited by John York Sawyer. 
(See State Register.) 

Illinois Gazette, Shawneetown. 1822. The Gazette had three very 
able editors, Henry Eddy, James Hall, Alex. P. Field. It was one of the 
five papers taking part in the slavery contest of 1822-4, and its attitude 
during this time is a matter of dispute. Mercantile Library, St. Louis, Mo. 

Illinois Intelligencer, 1820-32. Originally established at Kaskaskia. 
Among its editors were Elijah C. Berry, William H. Brown, and Robert 
Blackwell. It took part in the slavery struggle of 1822-4, at first as pro- 
slavery, later as anti-slavery. Because of its location at the state capital 
and the intimacy of its editors with the state administration, the Intelli- 
gencer is the best newspaper source for the twenties. Mercantile Library, 
St. Louis, Mo. 

Illinois Republican, Kaskaskia. 1840. 

Illinois Republican, Rushville. 1840. Chicago Historical Society 
Library. 

Illinois Republican, Shawneetown. 1841-2. W T hig in politics. Files 
for the years 1841-2 are in possession of Mrs. Charles Carroll, Shawnee- 
town, Illinois. 

Illinois Statesman, Jacksonville. 1843. Edited by Jonathan B. Turner. 
It stood for "true Republicanism against all Locofocos and Demagogues 
whether pretended Whigs or Democrats." Chicago Historical Society 
Library. 

Kaskaskia Democrat, Kaskaskia. 1830. Anti-Kinney in politics. 
Mercantile Library, St. Louis, Mo. 

Log Cabin Herald, Chillicothe, Ohio. Whig campaign paper of 1840. 

London Times, London, Eng. 1840. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 159 

IdvertisfT, Louisville, Ky. it 

Missouri Republican, St Louis, Mo. [821-40. Anti-Jackson daring 
the twenties and thirties. Became Whig when that party was formed. 
Files in the office of the St. Louis Republic. 

Nashville Union, Nashville, Tenn. 1S44. 

Neighbor, Nauvoo. 1844. 

X iles' Register. (See Miscellaneous 

Ohio News, Hillsborough, Ohio. 1830. 

Ohio State Journal, Columbus, Ohio. 1830. 

ve Branch (Whig campaign sheet, 1844), Springfield, Illinois. 

Quincy Argus, Quincy. 1840. (See Quincy Herald.) 

Quincy Herald, Quincy. 1841. Democratic in politics. Chicago His- 
torical Society Library. 

Republican Banner, Nashville, Tenn. 1844. 

Sangamo Journal, Springfield. 1831-1845. One of the most prominent 
Whig papers during the thirties and forties. Besides being ably edited 
it was located, after 1839, at the state capital where it occupied a position 
that gave it an insight into state politics. Mr. Lincoln usually used the 
Journal as a mouth piece. The Sangamo Journal is continued in the 
Illinois State Journal. Illinois State Historical Library. 

Scioto Gazette and Fredonian Chronicle, Chillicothe, Ohio. 1830. 
Edited by John Bailhache, who afterward edited the Alton Telegraph for 
many years. 

Sharp Stick, Chillicothe, Ohio. 1844. Whig campaign sheet. 

Edii'ardsville Spectator, Edwardsville. 1820-5. Hooper Warren, 
editor. The Spectator is said to have been the best edited paper in Illinois 
during its existence. Edwards seems to have supplied the money for 
starting the paper, but a few years after it was launched Warren denied 
that Edwards had any interest in it. The Spectator led the fight against 
slavery in 1822-4, and it is a very valuable source for that period. Mer- 
cantile Library, St. Louis, Mo. 

Spirit of '76, Nashville, Tenn. 1844. Whig campaign sheet. File in 
possession of Professor John Connely, Carlinville, Illinois. 

State Register, Springfield. 1835-45. The Register was moved from 
Vandalia to Springfield in 1839. It was Democratic and the party organ 
for years. Because of its influence with the party in power its files for 
the forties especially are more valuable than any other Illinois paper. 
Illinois State Historical Library. 

Times, Springfield. 1843-45. Democratic. 

Times and Seasons, Xauvoo. 1844. Published under the auspices of 
the Mormon church. Chicago Historical Society Library. 

Vandalia Free Press and Illinois Whig, Vandalia. 1840. Violently 
Whig. William Hodge, its editor, was bitterly opposed to Lincoln and 
other Springfield Whigs, whom he termed the "Junto." 

Western Democrat, Kaskaskia. 1830. 

Western Intelligencer, Kaskaskia. 1816-18. Mercantile Library, 
St. Louis, Mo. 



INDEX 



Abolitionists: Harrison and Van Buren charged with being friendly to, 

71 passim; a political issue, 74-5. See Slavery. 
Adams, James, candidate for governor, 44. 
Adams, John Quincy, candidate for president, 27, 34. 
Americanism, a political issue, 128 ff. 
Anti-Masons, affiliated with the Whigs, 66. 
Archer, William B. : candidate for lieutenant-governor, 47 n. ; candidate 

for the United States senate, 49. 

Baker, David J., appointed to the United States senate, 37. 

Baker, Edward D. : member of the "Springfield Junto," 76; candidate for 
Congress, 121, 130; political activity, 126. 

Barrett. E. F.. member of the first Whig state central committee, 68. 

Beal, Joshua, secretary of the first Whig state convention, 65. 

Bennett, John C. See Mormons. 

Birkbeck, Morris, opposition of, to slavery, 14. 

Bond. Shadrach : first territorial delegate to Congress from Illinois, 9; 
nativity of, 10; elected first governor of Illinois, II; death of, 40. 

Browne, Thomas C. : allied with Governor Edwards, 10; nativity of, 10; 
elected a state supreme judge, 11; candidate for governor, 18 fF. ; im- 
peachment proceedings against, 101 ff. 

Browning. Orville H. : member of the General Assembly, 57; political 
activities of, 67 

Calhoun, John C. candidate for president. 28. 

Carlin, Thomas, elected governor of Illinois, 60. 

Casey, Zadox : supported Richard M. Johnson for vice-president, 38; 
elected to Congress, 117. 

Churchill, George, anti-slavery leader, 26. 

Clay, Henry: candidate for president, 27, 38, 126 ff. ; supported by the Illi- 
nois Whigs in the Harrisburg Convention, 67. 

Clay's Land Bill, supported by the Illinois Whigs, 124. 

Coles, Edward : elected governor of Illinois, 16 ff. ; candidate for Con- 
gress, 37- 

Constitution of 1818: provisions regarding amendment of, 22; attempts to 
amend, 24 ff. 

161 



162 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [162 

Cook, Daniel Pope: allied with Governor Edwards, 9; auditor of public 
accounts, 9; clerk of the territorial house of representatives, 9; de- 
feated for Congress, 12, 32; attitude of, toward slavery, 12 ff. ; elected 
to Congress, 13, 14, 15, 27; voted against the Missouri Compromise, 
15; cast vote of Illinois for Adams, 30; death of, 40. 

Crawford, William C, candidate for president, 27 ff. 

Cullom, Richard N., member of the General Assembly, 57. 



Davis, G. T. M., political activities of, 125. 

Dement, John, supported Richard M. Johnson for vice-president, 38. 

Dougherty, John, member of the General Assembly, 57. 

Douglas, Stephen A.: member of the General Assembly, 57; nominated 

for office of secretary of state, 81, 86; elected to Congress, 130. 
Duncan, Joseph: elected to Congress, 32, 34, 37 •; supported Richard M. 

Johnson for vice-president, 38; elected governor of Illinois, 44 ff. ; 

opposed the Jackson administration, 45 ff. ; candidate for governor, 91. 



Eddy, Henry: supported John Quincy Adams for president, 28; political 
activities of, 125; political correspondence of, bibliography. 

Edwards, Cyrus : member of the General Assembly, 57 ; candidate for 
governor, 59. 

Edwards, Ninian : territorial governor of Illinois, 9; nativity of, 9; 
education of, 10; elected to the United States senate, 11, 13; sup- 
ported Missouri Compromise, 15, 16; elected governor of Illinois, 
31 ff. ; advised to support Jackson, 35; death of, 40. 

Edwards, Ninian W., member of the General Assembly, 57. 

Ewing, William Lee Davis : supported Van Buren for vice-president, 38 ; 
acting-governor of Illinois, 47; elected speaker of the house over 
Lincoln, 82. 

Federalist, use of the name to designate Whigs. 

Ficklin, Orlando B. : supported Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, 61 ; 

elected to Congress, 129. 
Field, Alexander Pope: supported Richard M. Johnson for vice-president, 

38; refused to be ousted from the office of secretary of state, 81 ff. 
First State Whig Convention: proposals for holding the convention, 64; 

personnel and acts of the convention, 65 ff. 
Ford, Thomas : elected governor, 92 ; attitude of, toward state policies, 

94 «. 
Foreign vote in Illinois, a party issue, 78. See Americanism. 
Forquer, George, supported by the Edwards party for Congress, 34. 
French, Augustus C, member of the General Assembly, 58. 

Glenn, Robert A., secretary of the first Whig state convention, 65. 



163] im 163 

Hansen, Nicholas, unseated by the [Uinois house of representatives, 24. 

Hardin, John .!.. elected to Congress, uo. 

Hargrave, Willis, associated with anti-Edwarda party, 13. 

Harrisbnrg Convention: delegates from Illinois to, 66 n.; Domination of 
\ [arrison by, 07. 

Harrison. William Henry: candidate for president, 54 ff . ; nominated for 
president, 6l, ff]\ elected president, 77; death of, 115. 

Henry, A. G., member of the first Whig state convention, 68ff. 

Henry, James 1)., candidate for governor, 43, 44. 

Herndon, William 11. : member of the "Springfield Junto," 76; political 
activities of, 12$> 

Hubbard, Adolphus : associated with the anti-Edwards party, 13; presi- 
dential elector, 14 n., 15; candidate for governor, 31. 

Illinois and Michigan Canal: authorization of, 50; pledged for the se- 
curity of the bond holders of the state, 97 ff. ; completed, no. 
Immigration into Illinois, 42. 
Internal Improvements: projected, 50, 51; abandoned, 59, 60. 

Jackson, Andrew : candidate for president, 27 ff. ; influence in Illinois poli- 
tics, 30 ; elected president, 35, 39. 

Johnson, Richard M., candidate for vice-president, 38. 

Jones, Michael: allied with the anti-Edwards party, 10, 13; nativity of, 10; 
candidate for the United States senate, 12; presidential elector, 
14 u., 15. 

Judiciary Reform Bill, acted on by the General Assembly, 85 ff. 

Kane, Elias Kent: allied with anti-Edwards party, 10; nativity of, 
10; education of, 10; appointed first secretary of state of Illinois, 
11; candidate for Congress, 15; elected to the United States senate, 

29, 37- 
Kinney, William: associated with anti-Edwards party, 13, 33; candidate 
for governor, 36, 44 ff. 

Lincoln, Abraham: favored convention system, 56; member of the Gen- 
eral Assembly, 49, 57, 60, 82 ff. ; member of the first Whig state cen- 
tral committee, 68 ff. ; challenged Democrats to joint debate, 67; can- 
didate for presidential elector, 77 n., 78, 125 ; candidate for speaker of 
Illinois house of representatives, 82; candidate for governor, 91; 
political activities of, 120 ff. ; candidate for Congress, 121. 

Linder, Usher F. : member of the General Assembly, 57 ; political activities 
of, 125. 

Lippincott, Thomas, opposition of, to slavery, 14. 

Locofocos, applied to the Democrats by the Whigs, 74 passim. 



164 THE ILLINOIS WHIGS [164 

Logan, Stephen T. : member of the "Springfield Junto," 76; candidate 
for speaker of the Illinois house of representatives, 105; political ac- 
tivities of, 122, 125. 



McClernand, John A.: member of the General Assembly, 57; candidate 

for Congress, 130. 
McLaughlin, Robert K. : associated with the anti-Edwards party, 13; 

candidate for governor, 44. 
McLean, John: associated with the anti-Edwards party, 10; nativity of, 

10; candidate for Congress, 12, 14, 15; attitude of, toward slavery, 

12, 13, 14; elected to the United States senate, 29, 35; death of, 40 
McRoberts, Samuel, supported Van Buren for vice-president, 38. 
Mather, Thomas, candidate for the United States senate, 37. 
Menard, Pierre: associated with the Edwards party, 10; nativity of, 10; 

elected first lieutenant-governor of Illinois, 11. 
"Milk and Cider" Jackson party in Illinois, 31 ff., 43. 
Mills, Henry L, presided over Whig meeting, 63. 
Missouri Compromise: discussed in Illinois, 13, 14, 15; opposed by D. P. 

Cook, 15; supported by Senators Edwards and Thomas, 15, 16. 
Monroe, James, re-elected- president, 14, 15. 
Moore, James B. : presidential elector, 14 n., 15; candidate for governor, 

18 ff. 
Moore, William, chairman of the first Whig state convention, 65. 
Mormons : migration of, to Illinois, 99 ; activities of, 100 ff. ; expulsion 

of, 107. 

Nauvoo. See Mormons. 

Ordinance of 1787, attacked by the Illinois legislature, 22, 23. 

Peck, John Mason, opposition of, to slavery, 14. 

Phillips, Joseph, candidate for governor, 18 ff. 

Polk, James K., election of, to the presidency, 127 ff. 

Pope, Nathaniel: associated with the Edwards party, 9; nativity of, 10; 

education of, 10; candidate for territorial delegate, 11; appointed 

federal judge, 11. 

Ralston, James H., candidate for presidential elector, 78. 
Reynolds, John: elected governor of Illinois, 36; elected to Congress, 117. 
Robinson, John M. : elected to the United States senate, 37; candidate for 
the United States senate, 49. 

Shields, James, member of the General Assembly, 57. 
Slavery in Illinois politics: before 1818, 9; after 1818, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 
20 ff. See Abolitionism. 



166] im- L65 

Thomas, Jr.. candidate for governor, 31. 
Smith, Joseph. Sec Mormons. 

Smith, T. W., leader of ami -Ed wards party, 33. 

Snyder, Adam W., candidate for governor, <;i. 

Speed, Joshua F., member of the first Whig state central committee, 68 ff. 

"Springfield Junto," membership of, 76. 

State Hanks: created. 50; condemned by the Whigs, 66; liquidated, 94 fT. 
State debt in [842: amount, 93 n., 95; repudiation of, 96 ff. 
Stephenson, Benjamin, candidate for governor, 59. 

Stuart, John T. : member of the "Springfield Junto," 76; elected to Con- 
gress, 117. 

Tariff: as a political issue, 42; endorsed by the Whigs, 73 ff., 125 ff. 
Thomas, Jesse Burgess: associated with the anti-Edwards party, 10; 

nativity of, 10; elected to the United States senate, 11; supported the 

Missouri Compromise, 15, 16. 
Trumbull, Lyman, removed from the office of secretary of state, 95. 
Tyler, John : candidate for vice-president, 54 ff., 67 ff. ; became president, 

115; following in Illinois, 115 ff. 

United States Bank: mentioned, 42, 46; withdrawal of the deposits, 58; 
bank bill vetoed by Jackson, 39, by Tyler, 118. 

Van Buren, Martin: elected vice-president, 38; endorsed for the presi- 
dency by the Illinois Democrats, 53; elected president, 56; candidate 
for re-election, 69 passim. 

Warren, Hooper: editor of the Edzcardsz'ille Spectator, 16; opposition of, 

to slavery, 14, 16 ff. 
Webb, Edwin B. : member of the General Assembly, 57; political activities 

of, 125. 
Webster, Daniel, supported by Illinois Whigs, 43. 
Wentworth, John, elected to Congress, 130. 

White, Hugh L., endorsed by the Illinois senate for the presidency, 53. 
"Whole Hog" Jackson party in Illinois, 31 ff. 
Wight, A. G. S., presidential elector, 54. 

Young, Brigham. See Mormons. 

Young, Richard M., elected to the United States senate, 49. 



THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 

THE STATE UNIVERSITY 

Urbana 
Edmund J. James, Ph.D., LL.D., President 



THE UNIVERSITY INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING DEPARTMENTS 

The Graduate School 

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Ancient and Modern 
Languages and Literatures; History, Economics and Account- 
ancy, Political Science, Sociology; Philosophy, Psychology, 
Education; Mathematics; Astronomy; Geology; Physics; 
Chemistry; Botany, Zoology, Entomology; Physiology; Art 
and Design; Ceramics) 

The College of Engineering (Architecture; Architectural, Civil, 
Electrical, Mechanical, Mining, Municipal and Sanitary, and 
Railway Engineering) 

The College of Agriculture (Agronomy; Animal Husbandry; 
Dairy Husbandry; Horticulture and Landscape Gardening; 
Veterinary Science; Agricultural Extension; Teachers' 
Course; Household Science) 

The College of Law (Three years' course) 

The School of Education 

The Courses in Business (General Business; Banking; Account- 
ancy; Railway Administration; Insurance; Secretarial; Com- 
mercial Teachers) 

The Course in Journalism 

The Courses in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering 

The Courses in Ceramics and Ceramic Engineering 

The School of Railway Engineering and Administration 

The School of Music (four years' course) 

The School of Library Science (two years' course) 

The College of Medicine (in Chicago) 

The College of Dentistry (in Chicago) 

The School of Pharmacy (in Chicago; Ph.G. and Ph.C. courses) 

The Summer Session (eight weeks) 

Experiment Stations: U. S. Agricultural Experiment Station; En- 
gineering Experiment Station; State Laboratory of Natural 
History; State Entomologist's Office; Biological Experiment 
Station on Illinois River; State Water Survey; State Geolog- 
ical Survey; Mine Rescue Station. 

The library collections contain (March I, 1915) 336,500 volumes, 
including the library of the State Laboratory of Natural His- 
tory (8,100 volumes), the Quine Medical Library (14,000 vol- 
umes), and the library of the School of Pharmacy (2,000 
volumes). 

For catalogs and information address 

THE REGISTRAR 

Urbana, Illinois 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



m..m, ,„„ ••iiiiiiii urn urn inn m m m m m m 

029 827 426 7 



PUBLICA' 



IE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 



Following is a partial list of the publications issued at the University : 
i. The University of Illinois Studies in the Social Sciences. 
Monographs in history, economics, political science, and sociology. Pub- 
lished quarterly. Three dollars a year. Address 321 Natural History 
Building, University of Illinois. 

2. The Illinois Biological Monographs. Published quarterly Three 
dollars a year. Address 321 Natural History Building, University of 
Illinois. 

3. The University of Illinois Studies in Language and Litera- 
ture. Published quarterly. Three dollars a year. Address 321 Natural 
History Building, University of Illinois. 

4. The University Studies. A series of monographs on miscel- 
laneous subjects. Address Manager of University Studies, 321 Natural 
History Building, University of Illinois. 

5. The Journal of English and Germanic Philology. Published 
quarterly. Three dollars a" year. Address Manager of Journal of English 
and Germanic Philology, 321 Natural History Building, University of 
Illinois. 

6. The Bulletin of the Engineering Experiment Station. Reports 
of the research work in the Engineering Experiment Station. Address 
Director of Engineering Experiment Station, University of Illinois. 

7. The Bulletin of the Agricultural Experiment Station. Ad- 
dress Director of Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Illinois. 

8. The Bulletin of the State Laboratory of Natural History. 
Address Director of State Laboratory of Natural History, University of 
Illinois. 

9. The Bulletin of the State Geological Survey. Address Di- 
rector of State Geological Survey, University of Illinois. 

10. The Bulletin of the State Water Survey. Address Director 
of State Water Survey, University of Illinois. 

11. The Report of the State Entomologist. Address State Ento- 
mologist, University of Illinois. 

12. The Bulletin of the Illinois Association of Teachers of 
English. Address 301 University Hall, University of Illinois. 

13. The Bulletin of the School of Education. Address 203 Uni- 
versity Hall, University of Illinois. 

14. The general series, containing the University catalog and circu- 
lars of special departments. Address The Registrar, University of Illinois. 



